To Save The Future
by Unara Akoni
Summary: Canada and Italy are the only countries to survive the end of the world, but they have a plan. Using a spell from England's books they manage to send themselves back to before the crisis, but is one year long enough to prepare for the world's greatest foe?
1. The Unlikely Survivors

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia

_A/N: This fic is a joint work between myself and I Will Abandon Heaven For You. Thank you also goes to our beta Amaya Kira who will also be adding in a few parts later on. _

"Oh come on Italy, do you really think that after everything we've had to face that I would fall for such a carefree mask? It may have worked before but no one could survive this war if they were that naive. I mean look what happened to my brother, some hero he was." Canada scoffed.

"V-ve~? What do you want me to say? You got me?" Feliciano shrugged. "You might as well accuse a stone wall of being made of rock. I am kind of obvious."

"So you have any ideas to end this anytime soon?" Canada questioned reaching into the leather messenger bag at his side. "If you don't then I suggest you join me with mine." He held up two objects to the light. One was a small silver canister with a button on the top and the other was an old battered book with a few red stains on it.

"I'm going to assume those are blood stains, ergo whatever book you now hold in your hands is most likely magical and dangerous." Feliciano shoved his hands into his dirt-stained military slacks. "I'm in, as long as your ability to correctly read Latin is better than Arthur's of course."

"Oh don't worry about that, I've already tested a few spells from here and they've all worked fine. Shame he wasn't better at it, could have saved his life." Canada shrugged. "I have other books of his too, it's how I managed to develop this little canister. It will be our distraction while the spell is cast."

Feliciano eyed the canister. "And I was so hoping it was wine. They destroyed my cellar you know." Feliciano picked up a small stone, and inspected it. Quietly, he spoke again. "What is your plan, Mateo? How is a Brit's silly book of spells going to fix this? We have lost everything. What can possibly change that?"

"We're going back to before this all happened." Matthew smirked turning to a marked page. "I honestly didn't think Arthur had anything like this little gem in these old books." He showed the page to Feliciano.

Feliciano scanned the page, murmuring in vague Italian. "Well, this might just work." Feliciano slung an arm over Matthew's shoulder. "Though," Feliciano's eyes sparked with curiosity. "How did you find me?"

"Did you know that my country had an underground lab that those things never managed to find? I was hiding out there and managed to hack into a spy satellite, it was just luck that it was facing the same place that you decided to go to for a food run." Matthew smirked. "I decided that it would be good to try and track you down and I even managed to pick up everything needed for the spell on the way over. I also may have kept a group of your people from getting caught when they wandered out, can't have either of us getting even weaker can we?"

Feliciano quirked an eyebrow at the blonde, and sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You're right. I already lost the southern half of me. I'm nearly human as it is." He removed his arm from around Matthew. "Speaking of our safety, we should get inside before something see's us. Luckily those.." He looked for the right word. "_Monsters, _aren't too intelligent." Feliciano bent down and ran his hands along a hairline crack, pulling slightly. It gave away to a dark passageway. "Canadians first." He swept his arm in an exuberant manner.

"Why thank you Feliciano." Matthew stepped into the passageway. "You know I never thought that you would have something like this, it just shows how wrong everyone was."

"People tend to ignore what is hidden before their eyes. I didn't assume you'd be dead, considering all the inhabitable land in Canada you could of run too, but I did not expect you to show up _here._" Feliciano slipped into the passage, and closed the hatch. Taking out a match, he lit a nearby candelabra. On the walls, ancient roman letters extended. "Grandpa Roma built this a long time ago, before he fell. I decided to use it as a base. Unfortunately, it doesn't have luxuries like electricity or central heat and air."

"What's the point of luxuries if you get killed for them?" Canada replied looking around. "My lab isn't to pretty anymore, found out the hard way that something extra was needed to combine magic with technology. If we somehow get trapped though I can make some pretty nice explosions."

A smile graced Feliciano's lips, and he turned the handle of an old door not too far away. "It's a bit of mess, but it's home...temporarily." He swung open the door, to reveal a room with a round table. Maps, scrolls, quills and books opened to random pages littered it. Furniture from the Roman Era was pushed up against the wall, and stacked precariously. "There are other rooms, but this place is like a labyrinth. Go too far in any direction without a map, and you'll die in the passageways. Makes for lovely decorations, as you can imagine." Feliciano finished dryly, pushing a stack of books to the floor to make a place for Matthew to sit.

"Ah got to love the random skeletons, it gives places feeling." Matthew replied back looking at a random map. "So where all do these passages come out?"

"Some lead to dead ends. Some lead to entrances like the one we came through. I have identified one that leads to Lu- What's left of Germany's house. There are a few natural springs down here. If you can hold your breath long enough, you can swim into a volcanic tube underneath Mt. Vesuvius. They spread underneath any land my grandfather used to control." Feliciano turned around and rummaged through a stack of scrolls piled on the floor. "Ah-ha!" He freed one, and handed it to Matthew. "This is a basic outlay of the tunnels, it marks anything important. I would've used them to gather supplies, but most of the exits are covered in debris, or come out into a crowd of maniacs ready to rip off my head with their teeth, or castrate me with a rusty metal spoon."

"Any near Arthur's house? I'd prefer to not have to make our own circle if we can use the one in his basement."

Feliciano leaned against the table. "The only tunnel that extends to the United Kingdom cuts through the ocean. You don't mind sea creatures do you?"

"Not at all, they are so much better than what awaits us above ground." Canada sighed. "We should definitely keep that map with us  
though, in case we need to get in later."

"Naturally." Feliciano nodded. "We should get going, but we need to stop to arm up first. I have a few guns in the old armory. Some Ruger Submachine guns and such. We want to prepared if we meet any trouble at Arthur's house." Feliciano reached a hand out too Matthew. "Time to try and save our past from this future, ve~?"

"Yes, this will become just a horrible nightmare. I refuse to watch my brother die again." Matthew growled clasping Feliciano's hand.


	2. Moving Forward

Disclaimer: Still don't own Hetalia

_A/N: We'd like to thank you for reading this and for the nice reviews. _

Feliciano smiled sadly. "And I, Ludwig." he said softly. He let go of Matthew's hand. "It's this way. It'll be a long walk, but it's not like we're short on time, exactly. How big of a gun can you handle, _complice?*"_

"How big do you have? I've been practicing in my free time. I've only been carrying Alfred's gun and Francis's sword though, made it easier to get here."

"Can you handle an M4 Carbine? Or a HK-MP7?" Feliciano mused, turning a corner, letting his hands trace the inscriptions on the walls. "They aren't too big, but they're automatic and have a bit of a kick."

"I can use the M4-Carbine actually." Matthew replied watching the other. "So what do those inscriptions say?"

"Some tell stories. Some hold memories, or old poems." Feliciano stopped. "This one here tells of Victoria, the old Roman Goddess of Victory. You may remember her from the Greek tales, she's referred to as Nike in their history." Feliciano took a few steps forward and tapped a certain place on the wall. It slid away. "That was Mars, God of war." Feliciano walked into the room, producing the same box of matches he had used earlier.

"Your grandfather did a good job when he built his place. I doubt anyone would have guessed that there was a hidden door there." Matthew stated looking closely at another inscription.

The flickering of a candle reached the hallway, and Feliciano stuck his head out the door, and nodded, curl bobbing." Grandpa never did anything half-assed." There was a rustling in the room, before Feliciano came out, holding a number of firearms. "I mostly have submachine, and machine guns. I never did like the idea of cocking back a hammer. Gives too much time for your enemy to get you first." He handed the M4 Carbine to Matthew, as well as a pair of Colt Automatic Pistols. He armed himself with an MP5 and a Ruger SR9. He also tucked a Beretta into his waist band. "Take whatever else you need. I'm going to get the ammo."

"I'll just stick with these, I do have a couple tricks I've picked up that will help us get there too." Canada replied following after the Italian.

The room was dimly lit by a single candle. Feliciano was loading a pack with clips for their weapons. In the eerie glow, skulls grinned at Matthew. Feliciano looked up at Matthew, and handed him a handful of assorted clips.

"There are 12 bullets per clip for the Colts, and the M4 Carbine has a 30 bullet magazine." He pointed at the black curved one when speaking about the M4. "It fires about 12 bullets per minute, so you'll have to be able to reload quickly. Hopefully none of this is needed, but considering it's like the zombie apocalypse of the dammed out there, we need to be prepared."

"That's for sure, there's really no safe place up there anymore. Though they seem to be spreading out more now so at least the groups are smaller, not that it matters now." Matthew laughed bitterly.

"No. or at least it won't. We'll erase it all. No one will ever know of this. Except for you and me." Feliciano licked his fingers, and put out the candle. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's go change the world." Canada smirked.

* * *

They had been walking for a distance, when they reached a very simple looking door with no doorknob.

"Here we are." Feliciano gave the door a hearty kick, and it creaked open. A feral howl came from inside, before a brown fur ball launched itself at Matthew's face. "Pooki no!" Feliciano shouted, grabbing the cat before her claws made contact with Matthew's face.

"I see your cat survived." Matthew stated drily watching the cat struggle in the Italian's arms. "Quite a fighter too."

"Well yes. I may have lost my sanity, but when I lost Lovino...Pooki talked to me. Told me to stop being a crybaby, and that if I was lost, my country would be too." Feliciano petted the cat. "The infected humans tried to kill her, but she got away I suppose. Well, I love cats. I couldn't leave her all on her own." He snuggled Pooki, cooing softly. then an amused glint entered Feliciano's eye. "You should feel good about yourself, you made a trip across 4 countries _walking _in less than a day."

Feliciano chuckled. "Here Pooki say hello to Mateo." He held the cat up to Matthew. It meowed at batted at Matthew's nose playfully. "See Pooki? Friend. He isn't going to hurt you." Pooki purred and meowed again. "Where's Kumajiro at? Up visiting his relatives in Antarctica?" Feliciano asked, putting the cat down. It wove in and out of Matthew's feet, meowing for attention.

"Yeah, there was a close call on one of the food runs and he got hurt protecting me. As soon as he was better I managed to find a family of polar bears and left him with them." Matthew kneeled down to pet Pooki. "At least they have been leaving animals alone for the most part."

"Yes. At least the earth is going back to a better state. Less pollution, animals taking over the concrete jungles. We need to start something to save the environment when we get back. Minus all the crazies trying to kill me, it has grown quite beautiful up there." Feliciano opened the door a bit more, and blue light played to the rhythm of the waves on the floor. "It was funny Pooki was in here, she despises water." he opened it up all the way, to a stone pathway and a near 180-view of the ocean. Numerous fish swam around the obstruction the tunnel made, ignoring its presence.

"How did Rome manage to build this?" Matthew asked looking around with  
wide eyes. "Better yet, how did the humans not notice it?"

"Ever heard the legend of Atlantis? 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and all that nonsense? As for how he built it...I haven't the slightest clue. He told me it wasn't anything I needed to know." Feliciano smiled at the memory of his grandpa, like he always did. "Personally I think the old gods helped him build it, to take over the world. Then his people stopped praying, and the gods died. " A mother dolphin went by, clicking at its baby. "I came down here a lot before the world became a playground for the mentally unstable. Well, I still come down here fairly often. It's calming."

"Ah, so that's where those came from. You're right about it being peaceful here, one of the only places left." Matthew closed his eyes for a minute before opening them again, a determined glint in his eyes. "Time to get moving again."

"Ve." Feliciano began walking again along the brick path. After several moments of silence, Feliciano spoke. "Do you think you can do it, Mateo? Be normal when you've seen them all die and fade away before your very eyes? I don't think countries go to heaven or hell, Mateo. Because we bear the sins of our people. I think we just...step into eternal darkness. What do you think?"

"Honestly, I've tried to avoid thinking about what happens to us after death. It just seems that with everything happening I should put my energy into staying alive. As for being normal, I'll do it by telling myself that it's all for them. Though if we fail to prevent that drug from getting out I will drop my mask the first time I see one of those monsters. I won't risk the world over something like that, even if they have problems accepting this version of me I can at least be assured they're alive." Matthew responded.

Feliciano smiled warmly at the Canadian. "I wish I had the resolve you seem to posses." Feliciano ducked his head. "I suppose I'll have to tell myself the same thing." He closed his eyes a took a deep breath. "Yes, I will do it, to save Ludwig, and Lovino, Gilbert, hell, even Ivan." He increased his pace, the same determination in his eyes that glittered in Matthew's. "Hurry, Mateo, I can see the door!" A rusty old submarine door was just coming into sight.

"Good, I'm actually starting to look forward to this even more. Let's go show these things why you don't mess with a country!" Matthew started running towards the door.

_Translations  
_

_Complice - partner_


	3. Falling Back

_A/N: Sorry that this chapter is also short, hey will start getting longer after this. So we're trying to update this at a fairly regular schedule but I Will Abandon Heaven For You was having problems with her computer recently and had to take it to the shop to get it repaired. Hopefully it will be fixed in the next couple days._

* * *

"Isn't that just the wonder of this world?" Canada muttered pulling out a gun and making sure he could easily reach his sword. "It's just full of surprises."

The door swung open, and Feliciano plastered him to the one side of the wall, carefully leaning to check the room. He walked in; doing a quick scan with his gun, then lowered it, looking up. "Hey Matthew...did Arthur have any pets? With three heads to be exact?"

"I never got to go into the basement whenever I was visiting but there wasn't one when I decided to come get his books." Matthew walked into the room slowly and looked at the dog. "It kinda looks like Alfred pet that vanished when we were little, just with extra heads."

The dog heads looked at Matthew, before one let out a low pitched whine. It stretched its neck forward and sniffed Matthew.

"Well, it seems friendly." Feliciano raised a hand and a different head sniffed his hand. It then gave a hearty lick, covering Feliciano in dog drool. "That is absolutely disgusting." he commented, smiling. He scratched its muzzle, and walked around it.

"Well at least he's not attacking us. You have no idea how tempted I am to steal Arthur's books again when we go back" Matthew stated. "I know this spell will send us back but I'm not sure about any items."

"I hope we have items. Imagine us coming back naked. I'm sure Francis would be delighted." he commented dryly, before continuing his walk around the dog. "It seems we have a problem. This rather large dog is right on our circle."

"That would be bad, too much attention. We will probably have to get this guy out of the room; we don't want to risk him doing something to mess everything up now do we? I have some food in my bag we can lure him with but we should probably make sure that nothing is on the other  
side of that door." Matthew motioned to the door that led to the rest of the house.

Feliciano raised an eyebrow and Matthew. "In a fight, who do you think would win? Large, terrifying, three headed-dog with a possible taste for human flesh...or a crazy human?" Feliciano sighed. "Might as well make sure anyway, for safety's sake." Feliciano made his way to the door. He tried the knob then snorted. "It's locked from the other side."

"Of course it is." Matthew sighed "Wouldn't want any creatures summoned to be able to escape. Even if the dog helps fight them I still don't feel like opening the door all the way to have them come running in."

Feliciano ran his fingers along his collar, and pulled a thin wire from the corner. "Being captured so often has taught me a trick or two." He inserted it into the lock, easily jiggling the tumblers into place.

"Nice trick." Matthew commented moving forward and pulling out the silver canister again. "I suggest just peeking out at first and using this if they are out there, this isn't the safest place to fight."

Feliciano took the silver canister. "How does it work? Do I just throw it in the direction of anything running at us?"

"That's the idea, you need to push the button of course. Be careful not to hit the small one there on the side though, it triggers a two minute delay on releasing what's inside." Matthew explained pointing out the two buttons as he did.

Feliciano opened the door, and pushing the button, through the canister out the door. Then he slammed it shut. A slow hiss escaped from the other side of the door. After a moment or two, Feliciano cracked the door open a peek, and inspected the damage. "Nothing is moving out there, that's always a good sign, hm?" He opened it a little wider and walked out there. A feral howl was all the warning Feliciano got before a maddened human lunged out of a closet and came at him wielding a mop. Without even thinking, Feliciano pulled his Ruger and delivered three shots into the crazy. One to the head and two to the chest. "Fuck double tapping." He kicked the body out of the way, and shot it again for good measure. The three headed dog whined, and thumped its tails. "These things are getting smarter. Best we get time-travelling soon or the noise will attract more."

Feliciano moved out of the way as the dog followed Matthew. When it had gotten out of the way of the circle, Feliciano walked into the middle of the circle, admiring the details of it. "It's really something."

"That it is." Matthew stated after getting the dog into the hallway. "Shame we don't have more time to study it."

"Let's begin then. As I have no idea how to do magic, I'll leave it all to you. What do I do? I'd prefer not to stand anywhere I might lose a limb." Feliciano gestured to the empty space around the circle.

"Since we're the one's going back we get to stand inside the circle." Matthew began taking items out of his bag and mixed them in a bowl he spotted on a back shelf. "We're going to be cutting this close." He muttered hearing the dog growl in the hallway.

Feliciano kicked the door closed, and turned the metal, letting the tumblers fall back into place.

"Won't buy us too much time. " Feliciano un-tucked his shirt, and his guns underneath, then tucked it back in. He stepped into the circle, and came up behind Matthew, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Work your magic, ve?"

"Ok, then." Matthew closed his eyes for a minute to clear his mind and make a silent prayer for the magic to not fail them before he lit the mixture on fire and began the spell. "Past to future, future to past, turn back time and see how the die is cast." As he was speaking he couldn't prevent the spark of hope that swelled in his chest as the circle began to glow.


	4. An Unexpected Turn Of Events

_A/N: Here's a longer chapter as you all requested. Sorry that it wasn't posted as fast as the others but I Will Abandon Heaven For You is still having problems with her computer. Thank you Amaya Kira for Alfred's POV and thanks to everyone else for the reviews. I know we haven't given much information about what exactly happened to the world but we're getting there. _

**Disclaimer: We don't own Hetalia**_  
_

Going back in time was a very fast process apparently, or at least to the Canadian it was. One minute he was standing in a glowing circle listening to the growls of the dog fighting off their enemy, and then suddenly he was sitting in a meeting watching Arthur strangle Francis. He would have thought that it was a dream if not for the bloodstained spell book in his hand or the leather bag that made a quiet thunk as it fell to the floor beside him. Looking over the table he noticed Feliciano glancing around the room curiously.

Feliciano had blinked, that was all. One moment, he was standing in the dreary ruins of Arthur's basement, the next he was sitting next to a very angry Ludwig, who was about ready to yell at Arthur and Francis. Feliciano quirked an eyebrow, before shutting his eyes, leaning back, and hollering:

"PASTA!" He then jumped out of his chair, effectively knocking it over, and ran out of the room. The countries stopped fighting, and stared.

'_Well that was a nice escape.' _Matthew thought to himself as the other countries began to settle down._ 'I doubt they would notice if I decided to leave too.' _With that thought he shoved the spell book into his bag and left the room, never noticing a pair of blue eyes watching his retreat.

* * *

Alfred was bored out of his mind. The world meeting was proceeding as normal. England and France were fighting again while Germany yelled at them in vain. All of a sudden, Italy screamed "PASTA!" and bolted from the room. Well that was odd. He normally waited to be acknowledged before screaming like that and he never left without permission. He cared too much for Germany to make him angry like that.

The American glanced over at his twin, ready to share one of their silent conversations at the antics of the rest of the world, when he became even more confused. Matthew was looking around as though he hadn't seen any of them for years. Normally, he hated it when Arthur strangled Francis, but now he was smiling softly at them.

Even more oddly, he picked up a worn leather bag containing an even more worn book that Alfred was sure he hadn't had when he came to the meeting and walked out the door. Were those stains on that book blood? What the hell was going on?

Why were Italy and Canada, the two countries least likely to leave a meeting early already gone? As far as he knew, they never hung out with each other or anything. He would definitely be having a talk with his little brother very soon.

* * *

Feliciano smiled to himself after he left, noticing the quiet steps of Matthew behind him.

"So, it went well, ve~?" Feliciano asked, his false, cheery tone a bit off. "We should celebrate with some pasta~!" Feliciano smiled, eyes closed. His voice returned to its smooth, thick accented state. "I need some practice, anyway. My voice had gotten deeper."

"Pasta would be good, it's been awhile since I've had any." Matthew replied smiling softly at the bear in his arms. "I think we can both use a little time before facing them again, it was hard to see them so normal after finding them the way I did. I should count it as a  
blessings that I was so invisible."

"Ah~! I know the perfect place!" Feliciano smiled, and shoved his hands in his pockets, taking hold of the iron cross there. '_For you, Luddy' _he told himself, walking down the long hallway. "So, can I drive?"

"Do you still remember how?" Matthew questioned checking that Francis's sword was still properly hidden.

"Of course I do. You didn't think I spent all my time underground, ve?" Feliciano popped his fingers, and pressed the button for the carport on the outside of the elevator. "It's good to be able to walk in daylight without worrying about losing your head." The elevator dinged, and Feliciano walked inside.

"That's for sure, six years is a long time to be watching your back." Matthew leaned against the wall of the elevator. "So was that story Japan told about your driving true? I vaguely remember him being freaked out about it."

"Kiku doesn't lie. My driving is pretty extreme." The doors shut, and the elevator began moving. Feliciano sighed and leaned back like Matthew was doing. "Shame you don't have any embarrassing stories." Feliciano eyed the camera in the corner of the elevator. Humming to himself, he reached up and felt the switch. "Fancy that, it's already off. I wonder why?"

"Sounds like this will be a fun drive then." Matthew eyed the camera for a minute thinking before shaking his head. "Francis did use this elevator, he tends to turn it off quite often. As for embarrassing stories, well no one remembers me so why would they want to hear them?"

Feliciano immediately pushed himself off the wall, and avoided the rails. "I'd like to hear some, we do have the time." The elevator continued its slow pace. "How about a trade? I'll tell you about the time I pretended to be the box of tomatoes fairy, you tell me something embarrassing you've done." Feliciano blinked. "I don't want to forget you, Mateo. You're the first intelligent country I've met."

"I bet you have plenty of them rolling around in that head of yours." he tapped the Canadians forehead, chuckling. "I bet you have the access code to every American military website tucked away in there." Feliciano's phone went off, Italian words rambling in an upbeat rhythm. Feliciano jumped. "Almost forgot I had this thing." He took one look at it, and pressed the reject button. He then looked at Matthew. "I'm not ready to talk to Lovino yet. Now, come on spill." He then attacked Matthew, tickling his sides.

"I also have half of Britain's codes." Matthew laughed pushing Feliciano away. "Well I'm not sure how it happened but one day Alfred needed an excuse to avoid being stuck with Ivan so he made it up that he had a date. Well it was during a World Summit meeting so he had to actually find someone so he came to me. Of course with me being the nice brother that I am, I agreed and ended up having to disguise myself as a girl for the evening. Well it turned out to be the one evening where both Arthur and Francis recognized me and they started fighting in the hotel lobby with Arthur screaming about how the Frenchman had corrupted me. Everyone was staring at me that night, humans and countries alike." Matthew looked at the floor for a minute. "Of course all the countries completely forgot by the next morning."

"I don't think I was there.." Feliciano ruffled his hair. "I'm sorry if I was." He crouched down. "I promised to tell you about the tomato fairy didn't I?" Feliciano sighed. "Well, at the beginning of World War II, I had been scouting the area. Funny enough, that's how I found a big box, full of tomatoes. I am a glutton, see, and decided to eat them. So, I climbed into the box, and fell asleep, after devouring quite a number of them. While I was sleeping, Lovino found me, and decided to express his brotherly love. He nailed the lid shut. When I woke up, I heard Ludwig's voice and freaked out. So, I decided to play dumb. I claimed to be the 'Box Of Tomatoes Fairy'. Dumb, yes. But effective. After a little rant about being a virgin, he took me prisoner. Thus started my friendship with Ludwig, and Italy's alliance with Germany." The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. "I do believe this is our floor."

"Now just to figure out where your car is parked." Matthew walked out of the elevator and looked around the parked cars.

Feliciano plucked a key ring from his pocket. He pressed a random button, guessing at which one might set off his car. A large siren like noise erupted from the other side of the parking lot. Feliciano winced, and replaced the keys in his pocket.

"Well, we know where it is." Feliciano strode over to the vehicle, and opened the door, finding it unlocked. He cocked an eyebrow curiously. "I know it's been awhile, but I don't leave my car doors open." He stepped back.

"Are you sure you didn't?" Matthew questioned looking under the car. "It has been seven years and you were a little naive before everything happened. Though this situation is a little nerve wracking."

"I'm sure..." Feliciano kicked the side of the car. When nothing on the inside responded, he took a look inside. "Nothing is in _here. _" He mumbled, then looked in the visor, and anywhere else something might be hidden. "Is there anything under the car? I really don't want to be assassinated on my first day back, ve?"

"I don't see anything." Matthew stood back up. "Do we want to just use one of the UN cars? It may be safer."

Feliciano nodded. He walked over to a car that was created for the sole purpose of the countries coming and going. He inspected this car as thoroughly, even going as far as checking the trunk. He slid into the drivers seat, and turned the key they were given to access the UN cars in the ignition. It started easily, and Feliciano got halfway out of the car, on hand on the wheel.

"It's safe. Hop in."

"You should have someone look at your car later, see if it's safe."Matthew got into the car. "Now for that pasta."

After a rather uninteresting drive, besides the fact that Feliciano had the car going over the speed limit half the way there, they arrived at a small Italian restaurant off the beaten path.

"Feli~!" An old Italian woman looked up from the dough she was flouring when the pair came through the door. With powdered hands, she came forward, placing a hand on either side of Feliciano's cheeks, greeting him with a kiss on each one as well. She looked at Matthew, and did the same. "Welcome back! Is this a friend of yours?" Feliciano returned the greeting to the woman.

"Yes Nana, this is Mateo. He's Canadian, and in need of some good, home-cooked pasta." The old woman chuckled.

"All your dates are, Feli." Feliciano shook his head at her.

"You know I don't date men, Nana." She flapped a hand at him. "Though my friend here does like to cross-dress." His eyes glinted with mischief.

"Ah, I blame my childhood for that. Apparently papa always wanted a girl." Matthew responded in a joking tone.

The old woman cackled, and went back to making pasta. From behind the kitchen bar, she shouted to Feliciano. "What will you be having?" Feliciano put a finger to pursed lips.

"Anything sounds good right now." He said decisively, crossing his arms. "What about you Mateo?"

"I think I would like to be surprised too. "Matthew responded looking down at Kumajiro and muttering, "It's been so long since I've had pasta I don't really remember it."

Feliciano nodded. "I chose this place, not only for its fantastic pasta, but it's safe to talk. Nana respects my privacy." He leaned forward, propping himself up on his shoulders, and intertwining his hands. "The drug will be tested on animals in three days. I was thinking that I could send some of my boys in and all of the data, along with the drug could disappear. Unless you have a better idea." A beautiful young woman came into the room, carrying a tray of drinks and some bread sticks. Her hair was as dark and her eyes bright as she sized up the two men, biting her lip. As she leaned down to put the tray on the table, it gave Matthew and Feliciano a nice view of what she should have been keeping in her shirt. She straightened slowly, and winked at Matthew, strutting away. Feliciano shook his head, chuckling. "I think she likes you, Mateo."

"She's not my type, and I tend to avoid the humans." Matthew responded quietly shaking his head. "Or at least the ones from other countries. I like that idea about making the data disappear, you should have them plant something in the systems too so that it will be easier to hack. That will allow us to keep track of future plans they may implement."

Feliciano sipped his drink. "Good God, caffeine!" Feliciano exclaimed. "I missed you so!" He set his glass back down. Moments later, Nana came in, and set a large plates with mouth-watering aromas in front of the two. "Ah, lasagna! You spoil me!" Feliciano crowed. He took a bite, and his eyes nearly rolled back in pleasure. "It's so good..." Nana laughed.

"You act as if you weren't in here just a day ago, eating the same exact meal." Feliciano shared a look with Matthew. "Of course Nana. I have business..." he looked off. Nana nodded.

"Of course, I'll leave you and your friend to take care of it." She walked back into the kitchen, shutting the door, and the metal grate on the kitchen bar.

Matthew smiled at Feliciano's antics before taking a bite of his own pasta and humming in appreciation. "Good call on the restaurant, this is really good. We'll need to have a backup plan in case something goes wrong, and we should probably exchange numbers so we can communicate easily."

Feliciano nodded, and pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket, and tore a napkin in half. He scribbled his number on a half. "I love being around people again." he handed both halves of the napkin to Matthew, along with the pen. "I was going stir crazy alone." Feliciano tucked into his meal, making noises expressing his appreciation for the meal.

Matthew quickly wrote down his own number and looked back to the Italian. "I think that we should be prepared to blow up the facility if we can't stop this in time."

Feliciano sighed and wiped his mouth with a separate napkin. "I was afraid you'd say that. It makes it worse that it's the only option if my plan doesn't work. You realize it could be marked as terrorism, and start another World War, right?" He took the number from the Canadian, quickly putting it into his phone. "We'd have to be careful though, if it comes to explosives. There are dangerous chemicals in that facility that can kill faster than the drug if they come in contact with human skin." He crossed his arms.

"We'll we may be able to use my invisibility to our advantage there. If your people can't get in I may try to get in myself. I feel that the security on those chemicals would probably be less than those on the 'miracle cure' so I could probably clear those out at least. Let's just hope we don't need to resort to that." Matthew went back to his food smiling at Kumajiro who had started waking up.

"Do you want something for Kuma? Nana probably has some raw fish back there." He nodded his head to the closed kitchen. "She wouldn't mind." Feliciano took another bite of his food. "So, let's go back to something less dreary. Come, tell me another story."

"That would be good, some fish will keep him occupied for a while. I have to think of a story to tell you, I tend to forget them easily."

"Nana! Could we get some raw fish? We have a hungry little polar bear out here!" The kitchen door opened, and Nana looked out, finally spotting it.

"No problem Feli, give me a moment." She disappeared back into the kitchen.

"How about I tell you one first this time then?" Feliciano pushed his chair back. "A long time ago, when I was still living with Roma Scipio, I used to clean a lot. One day, while dusting, I noticed that the lid to his piano was closed. I opened it up, since part of my job was to clean it. Inside I found something much more interesting than simple music sheets. I found furry porn. To tell the truth, I thought I was scarred forever."

"That had to be quite a shock. I didn't find any porn but Francis never really locked his doors and I walked in on him several times. The first time was because I was scared of a storm that woke me up, safe to say I got over that fear fast." Matthew chuckled.

Feliciano shuddered at the mental image. "I bet." Nana came out, a decent sized pan full of fish.

"For the cute little fur-ball." She cooed and petted Kumajiro.

"Thank you Nana." She left, placing the dish by Matthew's chair. "Be careful Matthew. She'll try and marry you off to her apprentices."

"Well she could try, won't get very far though." Matthew shrugged placing Kumajiro on the ground next to the fish. "There you go Kumajiki."

"Who?" Kumajiro asked before sniffing at the fish.

"I'm Canada." Matthew replied smiling.

"Ready for desert Mateo?" Feliciano asked, pushing his own empty plate aside.

"I guess I am." Matthew placed his fork down. "So think you'll be in much trouble with Ludwig for running out of the meeting?"

Feliciano shrugged. "No. But he's probably worried sick. Nana, if it isn't too much to ask, could I get something sweet?" Nana opened the metal shade, face glowing.

"Do you think I'd let you leave without desert? Your friend is far too thin." Feliciano chuckled as the old woman came out with a large cheesecake with clean forks, and looked disdainfully at Matthew's unfinished plate. She leaned over to Feliciano, and whispered. "_Make sure he eats a lot of the cake Feli. _" Then made her way back to the kitchen.

"Did you hear her Mateo? You need to eat more." Feliciano smiled wickedly. "I can't let my Nana down, can I? You better eat up."

"Oh don't worry about that, I eat a lot of sweets." Matthew took a bite. "Especially when they're well made. I guess after this we have to go back don't we?"

"Yeah." Feliciano took a bite. "It makes me kind of sad to go back to all that noise. I kind of like it peaceful."

After finishing their desert, they said farewell to Nana, and went to the parking lot.

"It's nice that she let us take to go boxes, ve?"

"She probably just thinks that we wouldn't eat if she didn't." Matthew laughed waiting for Feliciano to unlock the car. "She's a nice person."

Feliciano nodded, smiling. "She is, and I truly believe her cooking could bring world peace. Even Francis can't argue with his mouth full." He unlocked the doors, and got in. "I actually met her when she was still a teenager, busting tables at a small diner in Venice. She's never once questioned why I never age." He pulled down the visor. "Hey, her pretty little waitress left her number in our car for you!" He waved it at Matthew, grinning.

"I thought you said you always locked your car." Matthew stated opening the passenger door and getting in slowly.

"Well...I either forgot too…or that young lady is a very good lock pick..." Feliciano cleared his throat. "Care to get out of the car? I'm not exactly thrilled to be in this situation-" A gun shot went off near-by, and Feliciano bailed from the car, taking long strides back to the restaurant.

Matthew quickly got out of the car and followed after Feliciano, making sure that he could reach a gun easily and making sure there was no immediate threat.

"I really don't like this." He muttered when he made it to the door.

Feliciano skidded to a halt in front of the door, and nearly collapsed in relief. Nana stood with a twelve-gauge in her hands, it smoking at the barrel. A body lay unmoving on the other side of the room.

"Nana!" She didn't turn to look at him.

"I'm fine Feli. Some crazy broke into my kitchen and came at me with a knife. He's dead now, or he's going to wish he was." She pulled back the hammer, ready to shoot again.

"Mateo! She's okay!" He ran to the body, kneeling down. It was one of them alright. "Fuck. Mateo, we have a serious issue!"

"What's the probl- Oh fuck, this isn't supposed to happen!" Matthew cried running into the room. "Feliciano, we need to find a way to stall the meeting long enough to see if this is a single incident." He then turned to Nana and gave her a small smile. "Do you have a TV that we can check the news on? Or maybe a computer? I forgot my laptop at home today."

"Show him where it is Feli." She kept the gun trained on the dead man. "I'll hold down the fort." Feliciano kissed the old woman on the cheek.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have _ever _met, Nana." he pulled out his phone, running towards the kitchen and up a single flight of stairs. "Lovino pick up the god damn phone! Fuck!" he dialed another number.

"You have reached the AWESOME Gilbert. Too bad you are so unawesome that I am either ignoring you or doing something much more important." Click.

"Dammit! Will one of you assholes pick up the damn phone!" he screamed at it. Throwing open a door, he pointed inside. "There's an old computer in there. It has dial-up, but it's better than nothing." He swore at his phone again. "Not you too Luddy! Not again!"

"Try UN security if you have the number, tell them that we were attacked and that the other countries are probably at risk. That should buy us a little time." Matthew hurried into the room and started up the computer. "Let's just hope that their not answering means the meeting is still going."


	5. The First Victim

**We dont own Hetalia**

Feliciano punched the number into his phone.

"Yes, UN Security Speaking." A voice came through on the first ring.

"This is Feliciano Vargas, Foreign Italian Diplomat. Security Code: Pasta." he replied. The guard on the other end snapped to attention.

"Sir? Is everything okay?" There was worry in his tone.

"No. Matthew Williams, the Foreign Canadian Diplomat, and I, were attacked moments earlier by a mad man. Lock down the UN building, and do it _now. _The other diplomats are at risk."

"Are you sure sir?" He asked, tone serious.'

No, I'm totally bullshitting you-OF COURSE YOU ASSHOLE! LOCK DOWN THE BUILDING!" The phone dropped to the counter, and Feliciano heard the man yelling orders in the background. Feliciano put his hand to the mouthpiece and looked at Matthew. "I think I got through to him, ve?" He heard a scrambling on the other end of the phone, and he put his ear back up to it.

"They are shutting it down as we speak. Would you like me to alert the other diplomats currently in the meeting room?" Feliciano looked at Matthew, then spoke into the phone.

"No. Not yet. Whatever you do, protect them. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir!" Feliciano hung up.

"Got anything yet Mateo?"

"It's dial up, this may take some time." Matthew replied twitching slightly. "Why must it be so slow?" He then turned away from the screen to look at Feliciano. "Do you think we should have them send some security here or should we make our way back on our own after we figure out what's going on? It could be suspicious if we don't ask for guards."

Feliciano began dialing the number to the UN, stopping on number short.

"We need to check on my brother. Unlike yours he isn't safely locked up in the UN building, protected by numerous guards."

"Try calling him again." Matthew stated looking back to the computer. "I may have something by the time you finish."

Feliciano dialed the number again, and put the phone up to his ear.

"Hey! You pathetic bastard! What, when I call you can't answer, but you can call any damn time, day or night, and I'm expected to pick up?" Feliciano rubbed his ear, regretting putting the phone to his ear.

"Fratello, calm down, I wouldn't call you if it wasn't urgent." The other end was quiet. "Fratello?"

"Who are you and what have you done with Feliciano?" Lovino asked.

"I haven't done anything _with _him." Lovino tried to interrupt. "Shh. I'll explain later. Now in the next few hours, Mateo and I-"

"Who the fuck is Mateo?" His brother demanded. Feliciano rolled his eyes.

"Canada. Now, as I was saying, Mateo and I have just encountered what could be the first in a

number of attacks on countries. Bar the doors and windows, and do _not_ open the door to anyone that looks even the slightest bit insane or homicidal." Lovino scoffed.

"Because I am that stupid. Really fratello."

"I'm not kidding Lovino. You don't have to be gentle with these people, they don't understand your words. They do not understand pain. They only understand death. If you do not kill them, they will surely do worse to you. If you have to, run to Grandpa Rome's tunnels and hide. It's the safest place for us now."

"You're serious.." Was the quiet reply.

"_Ti Amo, Fratello_. _Essere Sicuri_."

"_Ti Amo troppo_, _proteggersi, idiota_." The other end clicked, signaling the end of the call. Feliciano stared straight ahead, not looking at Matthew, blinking away unshed tears.

"Do we know the damage yet?"

"Yeah, it looks like they actually did some testing this time. Three of the people lost their minds and then managed to escape when they were being transported to a new location." Matthew looked thoughtful for a minute before his eyes widened and he jumped up pulling his sword out from under his hoodie. "Unless their behavior has changed too they always travel in groups, that's what got us last time. We may want to call for some guards now, the other two have to be close by."

Matthew pulled out his phone raising an eyebrow at the Bluetooth headset he found. '_Completely forgot that I had this.'_ He thought as he put the earpiece in and dialed the UN number. He shoved the phone in his pocket and slowly started to make his way down the hallway.

"UN security speaking." A voice answered.

"Hello, this is Matthew Williams, Canadian Diplomat. Security Code Maple."

"Is everything alright sir?" The man questioned.

"Italian Diplomat Feliciano Vargas and I are currently under attack and request that-" He cut off as a man with a crazed look in his eyes appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What's going on sir?" The guard demanded as he heard multiple gunshots fired.

"Sorry about that eh. We need a security force sent to Nina's Pasta, it's about a mile away from the UN building." Matthew replied stepping over the body of the man he had shot in the head and chest.

"Ok, we've found the address and will be sending help as soon as possible." The guard replied after a moment of silence.

"Thank you." Matthew pulled out the earpiece as the line went dead and went down the stairs as more shots were fired from bellow.

Feliciano blew off the tip of his gun after firing six rounds straight into the approaching man. Nana lay still on the floor, her unconscious niece beneath her. A knife stuck out of her back, plunged straight through her heart. Feliciano didn't open his eyes as Matthew came down the stairs.

"People are always telling me to smile, like smiling is gonna take away all the hurt and all the pain...well I've tried that. I've tried hiding my sorrows, and covering the sadness in my smile... and what I've learned is when it hurts this much inside, your heart always has a way of showing it, no matter how many masks you wear." Tears fell onto his cheeks, and he fell to his knees, not even bothering to hide the tears. "I loved her, Mateo." He hugged himself. "I honestly, true to God, loved that old woman."

"Well I'm not going to ask you to smile, not after this. I know how it feels to lose someone you love." Matthew sighed resting a hand on Feliciano's shoulder. "Do you want to move to another room? I need to move her to check on her niece..." He trailed off staring blankly at Nana's body, he had only known her for a short while but she had already made him care. There was just something about her that made people lover her.

Feliciano momentarily put his hand over Matthew's then stood up.

"No, she needs to be prayed over so that her soul is accepted in _cielo. _" He fisted his hands into the perfectly ironed military slacks he wore, thanks to Ludwig. "I will do the prayer after you move the body, ve?"

"Ok then." Matthew moved forward and sighed before he pulled the knife out and sat it to the side. He then bent over and rolled her over before picking her up, ignoring the blood that began to soak into his sleeves. He walked across the room and gently placed her back on the  
floor before moving back to the younger girl.

Feliciano moved to stand over Nana, looking at her, not bothering to remove the tracks his tears had made.

_"Ave, o Maria, piena di grazia, il Signore è con te. Tu sei benedetta fra le donne, e benedetto è il frutto del tuo seno, Gesù. Santa Maria, Madre di Dio, prega per noi peccatori, adesso e nell'ora della nostra morte. Nel nome del Padre, e del Figlio, e dello Spirito Santo. Amen.*"_ he made the sign of the catholic cross on his chest.

"We have to stop this, Mateo. Even if we die in the process."

"We will stop it Feliciano, but it's obvious that we're going to need some help." He gave a small smile after checking the younger woman's pulse. "At least we managed to save one person."

Feliciano nodded and replaced his guns underneath his shirt. Moments later what looked like a SWAT team ran into the room.

"Are you okay ambassadors?" one grunted out, sweeping the room with his gun.

"Yes, without your help." Feliciano responded dryly.

"I'm sorry about our tardiness." The man said curtly, lowering his gun. "My name is Devon Robinson, leader of the Blue Helmets." Feliciano choked out a laugh.

"By God, Mateo! They sent Americans! Well, we're screwed!" He threw up his hands in frustration.

"Ambassador Vargas," A young man stepped up. "Your faith in our talents is low, but I assure you, we will get you back safely."

"This young lady needs some medical assistance before we leave." Matthew stated motioning to the Nana's niece. "We also have four bodies here, three of them were our attackers." As he went to pick up Kumajiro, who had been hiding under one of the tables, he suddenly noticed the blood on his sleeves and wrinkled his nose. "Sorry Kumaska but it looks like you have to walk."

The Blue Helmets went to work, inspecting the bodies and cleaning up Nana's niece, stating she had a concussion. Feliciano just stared at the wall, ignoring everyone. He had to come up with some conceivable lie to tell Ludwig, considering the whole situation would seem impossible to the blonde country.

"So. Are we done here?" he eventually asked, inspecting his shoe.

"I think we are now." Matthew stated shooing another guard away from him. "They all seem to be finished with everything except checking me over. I'm fine really, they didn't even get close enough to touch me." He sighed as another person insisted on making sure he was ok.

Translations

_Fratello_-brother

_Ti Amo, Fratello_. _Essere Sicuri_ -I love you brother. Be safe.

_Ti Amo troppo_, _proteggersi, idiota_ -I love you too, protect yourself, dumbass.

_cielo_ - heaven

*Hail Mary, full of grace,

the Lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou amongst women,

and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour of our death.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


	6. A Day of Waiting

The meeting finally let out after another two hours of arguing. Alfred was looking forward to getting some Mickey D's and heading home to play some video games. Oh that's right, he wanted to talk to Mattie too. Well, he couldn't do that on an empty stomach. He was the first to reach the door and he yanked it open only to come face to face with one of the UN security guards.

"I'm sorry sir, but I can't allow you to leave. This entire building is under lockdown until further notice."

This wasn't the first time this had happened, but it was unusual that they weren't told about it. Only one of the nations could initiate a total lockdown like this. Seeing as everyone else was in the meeting, it had to have been either Italy or Canada, both unlikely choices.

"Who authorized this?"

"Mr. Williams, sir. He called from outside the building and demanded an immediate lockdown citing dangerous persons in the vicinity."

Matthew of all people had called this in? Alfred turned back to the conference room to announce what he had just found out. After the initial chaos, everyone split off to wait it out with their friends. Alfred sat in silence, trying to call his brother and getting the voicemail every time.

After roughly forty-five minutes, they were given the all clear and the American strode out, already dialing his brother's number for about the 200th time. While it was still ringing, he reached the lobby just in time to see Matthew walk in the door. There was instantaneous relief before he registered his appearance.

Holy shit, was that blood? What the hell was going on?

* * *

"I'm fine, honestly." Matthew insisted walking into the United Nations Headquarters.

The trip back had been very annoying for the northern country as no matter how many times he told the guards that he was fine they just kept insisting that they make sure. He had even been separated from Feliciano since it would be too much of a security risk. By this point Matthew just wanted to go to sleep but until Feliciano came back they weren't allowed to leave the building. He made his way over to one of the chairs in the room and sat down with a sigh before he groaned as he noticed Alfred making his way over.

"Of all the times for me to be noticed why did it have to be now?" He muttered laying his head on the table.

"Mattie, what the hell is going on?" Alfred shouted this across the lobby, completely disregarding the fact that half of the world and quite a few humans were there too.

"I tried to call you about a hundred times and you didn't answer your fucking phone! A security guy told me you called in this lockdown then said you were still outside. Seriously, why didn't you come inside? You may be a nation but you are not invincible!"

Alfred finally stopped talking to take a breath and remembered that his twin was also covered in blood.

"Dude, you're hurt! We need to take care of you before that gets worse. It could get infected or something!"

Matthew allowed himself to be dragged away, knowing this would be much easier to explain in private.

"I'm not hurt Alfred, I swear. I couldn't come back inside because I was too far away so I started helping an injured civilian." Matthew explained as he was Alfred continued to drag him down a hallway away from the others. "I just really want to get some sleep now."

"Fine, but I am coming with you to the hotel. No way are you going out there alone again. As the hero, it is my job to protect you."

"We can't leave the building yet though. They partially lifted the lockdown so you wouldn't be stuck in the meeting room but we can't leave until the other car gets here with Italy." Matthew responded, his voice starting to take on its normal quiet tone as he looked around for Kumajiro.

Alfred looked stumped for a while, clearly not knowing what to do about that little situation. He looked around for a while before brightening up considerably. "Fine, we will go to the cafeteria and get some food. I am totally starving. By the way, why was Italy out there? I know he ran out when you did, but why? He always waits for Germany before leaving meetings."

"He said that he just got really hungry and decided to leave since Germany doesn't get mad at him often." Matthew shrugged. "It didn't seem like that big of a deal at the time."

"O. . .k, whatever. Why did you leave though? I thought you liked to know what is going on." Alfred may have been keeping his tone light, but they both knew he was a lot more serious about this then he would let on.

"I had a headache and the shouting was just making it worse. The meeting wasn't getting anywhere at the time so I decided to get some fresh air before coming back." Matthew winced a little at his brothers tone, this was not a good time for him to be suspicious.

Alfred could tell his brother was lying, but decided not to call him out on it just yet. If Matthew wasn't going to tell him, then he wouldn't find out. Everyone thought Canada was just a pushover, but he was actually one the most stubborn countries in the world. "Here dude, here's some aspirin. That will help a lot. Let's get some lunch, I bet you're hungry and that won't help a headache at all."

"Thanks Al." Matthew smiled slightly at the show of kindness. "I'm not really that hungry though. It was a bit of a mess out there and you know how I don't like eating too soon after seeing things like that."

"Dude you can be such a pussy. Fine, but we are still going because I am starving. I couldn't get to McDonalds because of this stupid lockdown and I am still not leaving you alone." The American grabbed his brother's wrist and dragged him along, completely ignoring the weak struggles of his captive.

"You're always starving Al, there's no need to go so fast." Matthew complained trying to pull his wrist free. "It's still going to be there even if we go at a normal pace."

"But what if aliens came down and are abducting all the food and I can't get any and we all starve and – where's my phone?"

"Shouldn't it be in your pocket?" Matthew asked adjusting the strap of his bag.

"I must have left it down in the lobby. I will be right back." Alfred hurried down to get his precious device. Matthew waited a few minutes before following him down, he obviously needed help finding it.

* * *

Feliciano folded his hands in his lap, his head bowed in a sort of trembling prayer. The radio played a soft song, and as it reached Feliciano, it played over his already frayed nerves, like a skilled pianist tickling the ivories of a master piano. The lyrics did nothing to help, his mind sinking into a memory with every word.

_It came and went just like a spark  
And lit a fire in my head  
It burned a hole right through my heart  
And left a ghost beside my bed_

His upper lip trembled, and he ran his fingers along the worn edges of the Iron Cross in his pocket. It was so long ago. So long ago it seemed..

"Run dammit!" Lovino screamed, blood dribbling down his chin, as he clutched his bleeding shoulder in agony. Feliciano just stared on in shock. Lovino swore as an infected creature came closer. He shot it twice, before shouting at Feliciano again. "You must live! Italy must not fall!" While distracted by his brother, an infected came behind him, and hit him over the head with a large piece of board. He stumbled but he did not fall. He shot the man viciously, then outstretched a bloody to his hand, trying to move closer. Before he made it, he sank to his knees, tears cascading down a soot and dirt encrusted face. "Please, fratello...run." And Lovino Vargas spoke his last.

_One more time before I fall_

_I'm gonna stand within your reach_

"You pathetic coward." A pair of black, judging eyes glared at him from his feet. Feliciano didn't move, looking in horror at his now dead brother that was sprawled, one hand reaching almost saint-like towards his little brother. "You let your brother die because you were too much of a coward to stand up and fight." Pooki hissed. "Don't let his last wish to see you live be unfulfilled. He was right, Italy must _not _fall!" She jumped onto the younger Vargas, sinking her claws into his tender flesh. He howled in pain and grabbed the cat, her words sinking in. He ran, picking up the soft tomato plush that had rolled across the floor to him. He would never forget this..they would pay. His own tears dotted the ground as he took off out the door towards the only safety he knew...Grandfather's tunnels.

Feliciano opened his eyes as they went over a rather uncomfortable strip of road, not bothering to yield to his inner want to cry. Crying wouldn't do the brother in this time any good.

_Someday you'll show me_

_It all worked out right_

Feliciano let the song lull back to a half-sleep, silently promising himself something as the Canadian's face flashed through his mind. He knew he may not be able to save his brother. But even if the Gods may damn him, he'd save Matthew.

* * *

A quick glance around was all it took for Matthew to realize Alfred was no longer in the UN lobby.

"Well Kumajiro, it looks like we've been forgotten again." Matthew muttered to the bear that had been following him around. He sat down at his previous table and looked around to make sure there was no one around before he began looking through the bag.

"So I have the three spell books, my notes, ammo for the guns, and dried meat." Matthew muttered placing two small books, a notebook, and his bloodstained book on the table. "Looks like I need to make more of those gas canisters then." Sighing he packed everything back into his bag and stood up. "Guess it's time for me to go get some sleep then. Come along Kumajiki."

* * *

Matthew walked into the hotel lobby ignoring the looks he was receiving from the humans. Quickly he made his way over to the elevators and quietly groaned when he saw Arthur and Alfred standing there arguing.

'_Well it looks like I really was forgotten again.' _He irritably thought walking over to wait with them.

" . . . and no this was not my fault this time. I'm way too hungry to set us into a lockdown and no way in hell was I eating one of your scones. I like to be able to keep my food down."

"Bloody git! My food is delicious! And I had to check since you were the problem last time. Do try to remember that guns are more frowned upon in this part of the world."

Alfred was enjoying the way the older nations face turned red when he insulted his cooking, but he didn't appreciate always being blamed when stuff went wrong. He may have caused a few issues, but he was not that bad. Turning away in a huff, he finally noticed his brother standing not far away, lost in thought.

"Hey Mattie! Where have you been?"

"I was still at the UN headquarters…" Matthew began quietly and trailed off as the elevator arrived. He got in and went to stand against the back wall.

"Sorry dude, I got distracted. It is so much fun to mess with Artie." The blue-eyed man stepped into the elevator with his brother and hit the button for their floor. They sat in comfortable silence as they waited, both men just wanting to get some sleep after the long day.

As the elevator made it to their floor Matthew quickly exited before turning to face his brother. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to it by now." With that comment he turned and made his way to his room trying to dig out the key.

The American stood there stunned by his twin's statement. He always tried to be the hero but if Matthew said he was used to it then he was doing something wrong. Well, he would just have to work that much harder to make sure he wasn't forgotten again.

"Hey Matt, want to come over and watch movies or something? We can totally hang out and stuff."

"Maybe later Al, I'm a little tired right now and I need to get cleaned up." He smiled slightly and tugged on one of his sleeves gently. "I'm sure you can find other ways to entertain yourself." He winced slightly at how bad his acting was today, well it had been a long day.

"O-ok, see you later bro!"

Alfred turned away, feeling depressed. Mathew was still mad at him and it was his own damn fault. He made his way back to his own room and fell facedown onto the bed without bothering to take off any of his clothes. He simply lay there until he finally fell asleep.

* * *

Back in his own room Matthew sat down and stared out his window for a while just watching as people went about their lives. It was so much different than what he was used to now. People never walked around like this, it wasn't safe with how many effected people there were. He had been one of the luckier countries when things became bad, sure there were instances where they would show up but for the most part it was too cold. Russia had been another lucky one though he had been another caught off guard during a meeting, he almost won though.

Getting tired of his thoughts Matthew got up and went to take a shower before collapsing into bed. Later he would make notes about what had happened but for now he just needed sleep.

* * *

Later Matthew was woken up by pounding on his door and the sound of Alfred yelling about McDonalds. Rolling over and burying his head under his pillow Matthew attempted to ignore his brother and hoping it wasn't one of the times Alfred would manage to get his room key.

"Wake up, wake up. It is breakfast time and McDonalds has those new sandwiches. We gotta try them! Mattie, are you in there? Fine I am coming in."

The sound of the keycard was his only warning that yes Alfred had somehow gotten the key to his room . . . again.

"How do you keep doing that?" Matthew questioned, peering out from under his pillow. Once he saw Alfred's cheerful look Matthew let the pillow fall back down groaning slightly.

Alfred grinned widely; he loved to wake his brother up. Matthew was not a morning person but they had mostly passed the point of physical violence since nothing seemed to stop the American from doing it every time they stayed in a hotel.

"Well, since we look so much alike I just walk up to the front desk and tell them I lost my key. Works every time."

"It's too early to be that cheerful." Matthew muttered trying to block out Alfred voice and go back to sleep. His brother was one of the few people that he felt safe enough around to do so.

"You can't go back to sleep," Alfred whined, "We are hanging out all day today, starting with breakfast at Mickey D's. Then we can go out and see a movie or just wander around the city. It's been forever since we just hung out. Please, pretty please with maple syrup on top?"

Matthew sighed and slowly sat up, it had been years since he had been able to do anything with his brother anyways. "Fine, just give me a few minutes to get ready." He grumbled looking around to see if he had left any of his weapons out in the open, the only thing he could see was one of the guns lying next to the window.

"Awesome!" Alfred followed his brother's gaze and his mouth dropped open. "Um dude, why is there a gun in your window? I thought all you Canadians were against guns and stuff."

"Well after the last time terrorists tried taking us hostage I figured that it would be good to have something to protect myself with." Matthew shrugged. "I can have a gun for safety reasons at least." He stood up and started digging through his suitcase.

After Matthew was dressed, they wandered out of the hotel and into the downtown area. Alfred really hadn't made any concrete plans so they ended up walking aimlessly up and down the streets, occasionally stopping at stores and a café to get some coffee. The Canadian was noticeably watching their surroundings, not relaxing like his brother.

"Mattie, what's wrong? You're twitchy as hell."

"I'm just a little jumpy after yesterday." Matthew replied flinching slightly as a large group wandered by. There were just too many people for the Canadian to let down his guard.

Alfred just shrugged, but inside his brain was whirling. No way should a single attack like that make his brother this paranoid. He had been through the World Wars for goodness sake. Germany was still having nightmares from the Canadian's attack. A country that had gone through that and remained as normal as possible would not be practically jumping at his shadow now.

"Relax bro, I got you covered. Let's stop for some lunch and then we can figure out what to do for the rest of the day."

"That sounds fine." Matthew muttered trying to relax, it would do no good for his brother to catch on already. As he followed Alfred through the streets Matthew thought back to how he and Feliciano needed more help, maybe it wouldn't be too bad if his brother found out. _'No, it would be bad. Alfred is loud, people would really notice if he was helping us. It's not like he was much help last time either.'_ He thought frowning slightly. _'Though it would give me more freedom if he did know…'_

Completely oblivious to his brother's mental ramblings, the American found a small pizzeria that he thought looked good. They ended up having to order two pizzas because Alfred ate an entire one by himself. They were digging around for their wallets to pay when a gun fell from Matthew's pocket.

'_Man, Mattie really is paranoid,'_ thought Alfred as he leaned down to pick it up, '_he's even carrying a gun in his pocket like me now.' _

He froze when he noticed the appearance of the pistol. It looked exactly like his, which was custom-made. He reached into his own pocket and felt the handle of the same gun that was lying on the floor.

"Um Mattie, where exactly did you get that gun?"

"I can't remember anymore, I've had it for years." Matthew muttered picking the gun up himself. _'Not like I can tell him the truth.' _The blonde thought refusing to look at his brother. _'Oh I just stole it from your dead body Al. No worries though, you don't die for another three years."_

"Really? Cause this looks an awful lot like my favorite pistol, which just so happens to be custom. The maker swore he would never design another like this. So either he lied or you are. Seriously what's up? You've been acting weird and I know you weren't like this after World War II, which was just about as bad as it could get. Spill. I am your brother and I deserve to know." Alfred hadn't been this serious in quite a while, but he was worried about his twin.

Matthew laughed quietly at Alfred's comment before looking him straight in the eyes. "There are things worse than World War II Al, you just haven't seen them yet." The younger blond replied eyes going hard. "It's not like you'd believe me if I told you about it anyway, not that I would when we're surrounded by all these _humans."_

Shit, his brother could be scary when he wanted to be. He could not understand how the rest of the world could forget about him. Still he refused to be cowed.

"Try me."

Matthew just raised an eyebrow at that. "Didn't you plan for us to hang out all day? I would hate to ruin that with sad tales." Matthew bent down and picked up Kumajiro, who had been following them around all day, and buried his face in the soft fur trying to put on some form of a mask.

"Somehow I don't think us hanging out all day will make a difference. You are way too uncomfortable to have a good time. Let's go back to the hotel where we can talk in private."

At the look his brother shot him, Alfred added, "We'll get some ice cream first and take the long way back if you want. But I really am worried about you. This is so unusual for you."

"It's fine Al, really. I just need a couple days to calm down from yesterday that's all." Matthew replied quietly. "After that things will be fine, you'll see."

"I guess if you are sure. We can just head back to my room then and watch one of those pay-per-view movies. That way you don't have to be around all these people." The bigger man shot his twin a grin, trying to relieve the tension. It took a moment, but Matthew returned a small smile of his own.

"That sounds like a good idea." Matthew replied, his voice less strained than it had been moments before. "It should be a nice distraction."

_Song-Be Still My Heart, Peter Bradley_


	7. An Ally

_A/N: So we thought that you deserved to have two chapters today. Thank you to AmayaKira for helping us with this fic by being an awesome beta and for writing as Alfred for us. She is also the one who wrote the dream in this chapter._

__**We don't own Hetalia.  
**

* * *

The chance to simply talk to one another had been a godsend. For Alfred, it was simply that he had missed talking with his brother since they had both been busy. For Matthew it was a second chance. Before the end of the world, they hadn't really seen each other beyond a few minutes at the world meetings. He knew he couldn't allow that to happen this time around.

They ended up watching some cheesy comedy that had the American laughing loudly and even the Canadian managing a few chuckles as well. Yes, he had missed times like these so much.

They passed the day like this, just enjoying their time together until it was late at night and Matthew was debating if he should leave or not. He was more relaxed than he had been in years and if he did leave he would probably be on edge again. Looking at the clock again he decided that he should really get some sleep and stood with a sigh.

"Well Al, I should probably go back to my room now." He smiled at his brother and bent down to pick up his ever present bag.

"Well, you don't have to go back if you don't want to. The bed is plenty big enough for both of us. It'll be just like when we were little." Alfred gave him his patented puppy dog look, big blue eyes even getting a convincing film of tears.

"I never could resist that look." Matthew smiled slightly while dropping his bag back to the ground. There was the sound of something breaking and he frowned before sitting on the bed and looking around for the source. Reaching into a side pocket he felt something sharp stab into one of his fingers and quickly pulled his hand out noticing the glass now stuck into it.

"Completely forgot about that." He muttered before turning back to Al. "Do you happen to have any Band-Aids?"

"I think I'll have to ask the front desk." He quickly phoned down and requested that a few Band-Aid s be sent up to his room. In no time flat, one of the receptionists had brought them up there. The nations frequently used this hotel and the staff was always careful to make sure their needs were met.

"You sure have a lot of stuff in that bag. What broke?" Matthew was normally careful with his stuff and it was rare that he broke anything, unlike Alfred.

"Just a keepsake that I forgot was there. Sadly glass doesn't stand much of a chance when there are books being dropped." Matthew replied while carefully pulling the shards out of his fingers.

Alfred reached out to grab his brother's wrist, vaguely noting the way he stiffened suddenly. The cut didn't look too deep, but that wasn't what had caught his attention. A scar that looked quite a bit like someone had taken a bite out of Matthew's arm was visible from where his sleeve was pushed up.

Sky blue eyes widened at the very obviously human teeth marks. "How did get this scar, because it looks like a human tried to take a chunk out of you."

Matthew stared at the scar blankly for a few moments in shock, that scar had not been there earlier in the day though it was something he received in the future. "It happened in one of the battles I was in. Turns out the guy wasn't dead yet." He stated blankly.

"Damn, and I thought I fought some crazies. Well, guess we'd better head to bed. Night Mattie."

After Matthew bandaged his cut, both nations crawled into bed. Alfred fell asleep almost immediately, snoring rather loudly. His twin, on the other hand, lay awake, trying to decide what he should do. Tell Alfred the truth and risk him not believing, or hope to prevent everything without him ever finding out.

Eventually Matthew was able to drift off sleep. Sadly Matthew's dreams were not as relaxed as his day had been.

* * *

Most of the world sat around the conference table, all looking ill to at least some degree. The smaller nations could barely sit upright, while those like Russia simply appeared to have a cold. Eventually everyone had shown up . . . except Japan. America kept casting glances to the empty seat, but most of the other nations were too distracted by the emergency that had brought them here in the first place to worry about a single missing country.

Chaos erupted as each country tried to make themselves heard, concerned only for themselves and their own people. No one noticed as America slipped away, intent on finding his missing friend. Except England. He watched the normally loud nation walk purposefully for the door. What was that foolish boy doing? The riots were getting worse and he just waltzed outside? He wasn't even at full strength!

America jumped in one of the cars kept at the United Nations for their use and headed to the airport. Hopefully Japan's flight had simply been delayed. England decided to follow him to make sure he would be a little safer. Normally, humans had a difficult time injuring nations, but these were hardly normal times. That damn "cure" for AIDS was making the humans more dangerous and unpredictable while weakening the countries.

The streets were utterly abandoned except for the odd individual watching from a shadowed alley. The silence was eerie as just a few days ago this had been a bustling cityscape. The situation had worsened in just the last 24 hours. Once they arrived at the airport, America signaled for his follower to stay out before slowly entering the building. It seemed empty, and that frightened him more than anything. England waited two minutes before following him in. Otherwise the idiot was liable to get hurt or something.

The scene he walked into was worse than any horror movie he had ever seen. Bodies covered the floor and the scent of blood was enough to make him gag. The only sound was a single person sobbing. England spotted America clutching a dark-haired body to him. Familiar brown eyes were open and unseeing, their owner no longer one of the living. Japan was dead, his throat brutally mutilated.

"Wake up, please wake up Japan. Ju-just wake up!" Those plaintive cries echoed throughout the terminal. England backed into a small alcove a ways away to give the American a small bit of privacy to come to terms with his horrific discovery.

Not ten minutes later, footsteps could be heard through the broken sobbing. There was no time to react as a large group of humans seemingly came out of nowhere to surround America. Their appearance left no doubt that they were the ones who had wreaked this havoc.

The flash of a large knife was the only warning before they surged forward as one, clearly going for the kill. America was strong, but even he could only handle so many attackers at once. As slashes began to mar his body and he was forced to the ground, England unfroze to help his former colony. He attempted one of his spells only to cry out with frustration when it didn't work.

The green-eyed man began to physically fight them using his admittedly rusty skills from his past. For a time, it seemed the nations might be able to hold them off long enough to escape, but the tide suddenly turned. Their gazes met just as the knife plunged through America's eye and he fell unmoving to the floor. England's legs gave out and the group converged on him, only moving away when both nations lay broken and still amongst the other corpses.

Unnoticed by any of them, Canada crouched in the corner where he had witnessed both his brother's and former caretaker's deaths. He silently stared at the wall, unable to comprehend that they were gone. Hours later, he approached the bodies, carefully closing their eyes. He picked up Texas from where it had fallen, inspecting the broken lenses before pocketing them. America wouldn't need them anymore.

* * *

Waking from the nightmare Matthew just lay still with his eyes closed trying to calm his racing heart. That was the beginning of the end for all the countries, one by one they were picked off as the years passed until only two remained.

Though it was sad it was also the day that Matthew got his main weapons. As he had stood up to walk away he had caught a glimpse of Alfred's gun and picked it up in case the group came back again, then as he was passing by Arthur he noticed an old book and felt compelled to grab it too. Without those two items he never would have survived and the world never would have gotten its second chance.

Now that he was slightly calmer Matthew opened his eyes only to come face to face with the very person he had just seen die and panicked again, rolling off the bed.

* * *

Alfred both felt and heard his brother thrashing around. He was whimpering and tears were rolling down his face. This was a nasty nightmare. He tried to shake him awake but it didn't work at all. He would just have to wait it out.

"No, no! Al! No you can't die!" He whispered this brokenly, nearly sobbing.

Matthew was dreaming that he was dying. That simple fact caused him to freeze until those violet eyes opened and their owner rolled and crashed onto the floor.

Alfred tried to help him up only to be pushed away violently as the Canadian attempted to back into the wall away from his twin.

"No, they got you…" Matthew whimpered staring at the form on the bed, temporarily forgetting about his trip to the past. "It's been years, you can't be here. I saw it happen…" The blond trailed off while trying to calm himself.

Alfred slowly approached his twin, similar to the way one would approach an injured animal. What was he talking about? Who had gotten him? He was confused, but he knew he needed to snap Matthew out of it.

"Mattie, I'm right here. Nothing happened to me. Everything is fine," said the American in a soothing voice.

"How?" Matthew questioned in a small voice as he tried to make sense of things. Suddenly he saw his bag lying beside the bed and he took a deep breath. "That's right, it hasn't happened, everything's ok." He then turned his attention back to his brother. "Sorry about that Alfred." He muttered picking up Kumajiro who had been pushing against his leg.

"What do you mean it hasn't happened? You were terrified. Please tell me, I want to help you." Alfred was looking determined, but definitely a little scared of what could make his brother so frightened. Despite being so quiet, almost nothing scared the Canadian.

"You wouldn't believe me Al, it's not something that many would accept easily." Matthew stated burying his face in Kumajiro's fur.

No matter how much Matthew denied it, Alfred could tell he wanted to be able to talk about what was bothering him. They were twins, and ever since they had both been under Arthur's care they had been able to understand what the other was feeling. Call it twin telepathy or whatever, but it was one of the reasons they were so close.

"You're my brother, I'll always believe you, no matter what."

Matthew looked up at his brother for a minute deciding on what to do before sighing and burying his face again.

"Get the book in my bag, the larger one, and read page thirty-nine." He ordered gripping Kumajiro closer to himself.

Alfred reached over into the worn leather bag, wondering how it had gotten those bloodstains that were only noticeable up close. He pulled out an even more beat up journal-like book that he thought looked vaguely familiar. He quickly flipped to the page and began to read. His eyes widened as he began to understand what his brother was trying to tell him.

"A time-travel spell? Wait a second, you believe in magic? You always laughed at Artie with me whenever he brought it up."

"Desperate times brother, I was willing to try anything. Nothing else was working and I had the book so I figured I may as well try one, see if Arthur wasn't lying about magic. Imagine my surprise when it actually worked, but it was too late… there were too many of them. Then I noticed that spell and it was all we had left so I found another country and we came here." Matthew muttered into his bear's fur.

"There were too many what? Mattie, what happens in the future? How did you get Arthur's spell book, he never lets it out of his possession."

Alfred's questions came a mile a minute. There was never any doubt that Matthew was telling the truth, he would never joke about something serious.

"Who else came with you? Where was I?"

"There were too many of the same things that came after Feliciano and I yesterday, it isn't supposed to happen for another year! We thought we would have more time to get ready, my invisibility was supposed to give me time to adjust so I could keep my cover but you saw me." Matthew ranted his voice growing louder as he looked up before he took a breath and calmed himself again. "Arthur didn't need the book anymore, it didn't help him when he needed it and so I ended up with it."

"Ok, calm down. Start at the beginning and explain it calmly. Don't try to sugarcoat anything because I obviously need to know what is going on." It was unusual for Alfred to be the rational one of the twins, normally Matthew had that role in spades.

"Right, well I'm not sure how many details I can give you right off. It may change things more and then we're all screwed." Matthew replied crawling over towards Alfred "I really shouldn't be freaking out like this but yesterday really shook me up."

The blue-eyed man pulled him into a comforting embrace. They both took strength from the closeness of the other. "You can explain everything when the time is right. Just tell me one thing. What happened to me?"

"You were killed Al, eight years ago for me. It was the same day that we also lost Arthur and Kiku." Matthew muttered closing his eyes. "I was invisible even to the attackers."

Even though he had a feeling it was that bad, Alfred was still not prepared to hear it stated so starkly. He . . . had actually died. Arthur and Kiku too. He wondered what could have been strong enough to take down nations. And Matthew had witnessed his death . . . of course he was having nightmares. While he knew his twin hated being ignored, he was thankful now that that trait had saved him.

"Oh my god Matt. I can't believe you had to see that. I'm so sorry for making you remember this. It's ok now, I am alive and I don't plan on dying anytime soon. You can help me be prepared and make sure it doesn't happen again. Who was the other country that survived?" said Alfred almost desperately. He was willing to do about anything to help out the obviously traumatized nation.

"It's not that hard to figure out if you think about it Al, we've both been acting weird to you. We didn't expect to show up in the middle of a meeting either, that was a shock to see Arthur and Francis fighting. I thought everything was a dream or something until my bag landed behind me, if only it was true." Matthew smiled slightly at the thought.

"Wait, you mean Italy survived the apocalypse? Wow, never expected that. I really thought it would be Germany or Switzerland. I mean, those guys are beasts."

"He was smart enough to run from fight's he couldn't win, something that cost the rest of you." Matthew replied shaking his head. "Though there's no telling what would have happened if you hadn't been surrounded so fast, you were very obviously outmatched."

"It sucks that I died, but at the same time I am glad I went down fighting. Do you think you would be able to tell me what is attacking us? I want to be prepared."

"Our own people came after us Al, a recent 'miracle cure' did something to their brains and they became monsters. They didn't change physically of course, though they did get stronger, but you could still tell who was being affected by it. Everyone was excited when they heard about it but no one knew that they skipped the testing procedures. Even after it was banned people would go to other countries to get it and eventually we were outnumbered and sick."

"Our own people took us out? What a nightmare." Alfred just sat there, not wanting to believe that it could happen. A nation's strength came from his people. To have that strength turned on them would be horrific.

"So what happens now?"

"We prepare for them. Feliciano is going to try to send men in to steal the research materials too but we just have to wait and see for that." Matthew shrugged. "Sadly we had to use the last of my special weapons before we left so I have to make more along with keeping tabs on that facility."

"I can definitely help. We can raid my weapons vault for anything we need. I have been stocking up for the apocalypse for years now, but this is not what I expected," said Alfred almost excitedly. He always did love a good fight.

"Ok, we can start in the morning, but for now, we both need more sleep."

"That's for sure, hopefully I won't be as stressed tomorrow. You may want to make sure everything is alright in Texas by the way, I forgot I had it in my bag and the books fell on it. Hopefully everything's ok since it wasn't the one from this time." Matthew stated with a laugh.

"You broke Texas! No, not Texas! Don't tell but that is my favorite state!" Alfred went into one of his whining rants. Normally these annoyed Matthew, but today he was just so relieved to have told his brother the truth that he simply laughed.

Finally, they both crawled into the bed, lying close together. They both needed the physical reassurance that they were both alive and well.

"Night Mattie."

"Good night Al.


	8. Another Battle

_A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews, I've been going through a rough time and reading them helped cheer me up._

**Disclaimer: We don't own Hetalia**

The next morning when Alfred woke up Matthew was lying on the floor staring at Al's computer looking quite irritated. "They're not the same. " He muttered scowling as he turned to the spell book beside him.

Alfred yawned widely; not really ready to be awake yet. His brother's mumbling had woken him up. "Dude, what are you talking about? It's too early to be worrying about stuff."

"Just doing some research, that's all." Matthew muttered. "I need to get some information to Feliciano so he can send in his people."

"Whatever dude, I'm gonna take a shower. Then we can go get some awesome Mickey D's for breakfast." The American wandered into the bathroom and soon Matthew heard the water running. He winced as his twin began to sing, he'd forgotten that Alfred thought the shower was the perfect place to sing without being overheard. Too bad he sang a lot louder than the sounds of the water.

Quickly closing down the computer, Matthew gathered all his stuff and went back to his own room. There was something that he had left there that he should really pick up before they left, it would at least make him feel safer.

Alfred wandered out of the bathroom only to realize his room was empty. Remembering everything from last night, he panicked and tore down the hall to his brother's room. When knocking didn't get a response, he whipped out the other key and burst into the room, nearly giving Matthew a concussion as he had been on his way out.

"Oh shit! Mattie, you ok? I didn't hear you leave and I had no idea where you went! You can't just abandon me after the stuff you told me yesterday! We gotta stick together!"

"I just needed to grab something really fast." Matthew muttered standing up slowly. "Did you really have to use that much force to open the door?"

"Oops. Guess I just freaked out a little," said Al sheepishly. He smiled at his brother, knowing he could never stay mad at him.

"Try to be more careful next time Al, that hurt." Matthew replied rubbing at his head. "Now what was it you said about food earlier?"

"On to McDonalds, dear brother!" They made their way down to the street, opting to walk instead of wasting gas driving two blocks down the road.

Matthew was still watching the people around them as they made the walk, not trusting groups of people anymore. It wouldn't be until after the crisis was taken care of that he would fully relax in public again. Luckily there weren't very many people inside McDonalds at this time so he was able to get some peace.

"I still can't figure out how you're able to eat so much." Matthew muttered glancing at the pile of food in front of Alfred.

Alfred swallowed, having learned if he talk with his mouth full Matthew would hit him upside the head. "I'm a big nation and I need to keep up my strength. Never know what might happen."

It was amazing how fast the blue-eyed man could put away the sheer amount of food he had ordered. In no time at all, they were wandering back to the hotel.

As they were starting to near the hotel Matthew caught a shadow of movement in one of the alleyways and frowned. '_It could be nothing, but should I risk it?'_ He thought glancing at his brother for a minute before looking at the alley again.

"Hey Al, could you hold Kumasaka for me? My arms are a little tired." He questioned his brother with a small smile, keeping the alley in sight. He had survived too long to ignore his instincts and they were telling him that something was seriously wrong.

"Uh sure dude. What's up, you never let me hold him." Alfred nearly fell has the polar bear was thrust into his arms almost faster than he could answer. Matthew had tensed, watching the alley they had just walked by and reaching for something in his pocket.

"I thought I had seen some old friends of mine, I don't want to be holding Kumagaki if they decide to say hi." Matthew muttered wrapping his hand around his gun. "They didn't like him so much before."

"What do you – oh those old friends." Alfred was confused as hell until Mattie shot him a look that told him everything. "Wait shit, they're here? We gotta get out of here." Alfred was trying to hold onto the struggling bear and drag his twin back to the hotel at the same time. It was not effective to say the least.

"Al get back to the hotel please, I'll be fine." Matthew sighed attempting to shake his arm free while noticing how the figures in the alley moved forward. "Besides, I may be wrong about this. I just want to make sure first."

"I can't just let you go alone. Especially if there are some crazy humans out there." Alfred was being stubborn as normal, and Matthew was about fed up with it.

"Alfred, these are more than just crazy humans. They're bloodthirsty creatures that don't understand pain. The only thing you can do is kill them before they kill you. I've been fighting these things for years now and can recognize them instantly. Would you be able to tell the difference between something you haven't seen and all these innocent people?" Matthew growled managing to pull his arm free.

"We-well, I um . . . I guess not. But I still can't leave you alone out here. After all, I am the her-you shot me! You fucking shot me!" Alfred felt his arm go numb as the bullet entered it, almost making him drop Kumajiro. Matthew simply lowered the gun, eyeing him without regret.

"Now you have to get inside. Last time you tried to play hero around these things people got killed." Matthew snapped as something leapt from the alley and attacked the closest person. He quickly shot the man who led the charge and then another who had pulled out a knife and was stalking after a little girl who had been separated from her parents.

Those blue eyes widened with unmistakable hurt, but he knew his brother was right. There was no way he could hold onto the polar bear and fight when his dominate arm was unusable. He was forced to go to the hotel and watch from the window as Matthew took them down effortlessly. He had no idea his twin could fight like that.

Taking out the infected people was relatively easy when they were at a distance, it was when they started getting closer that things became dangerous. As the street cleared of people Matthew became the main target of the group. As they started to move closer to him he fired off three more shots, dropping their number to seven, and pulled out the sword he had hidden along his back.

Wait a second, where did that sword come from? And damn, Mattie knew how to use it. He was taking them out fast. Hm, maybe he should be thinking of how to get rid of the bodies or at least make sure Matthew wouldn't get caught. Even as nations, they could still be punished harshly for murder. If nothing else, they would have to spin this as self-defense.

Having experience with these things made getting rid of them a lot easier than when everything began. He knew what to look out for now, like how they always tried to circle around you, but there was one thing he was not expecting. As he swung his sword around one of his opponents managed to block the blade and swung out with one of his knives. As the blade sliced into his left arm he remembered Feliciano commenting about how they were getting smarter and understood why things were moving faster.

"Shit, they really weren't the same." He cursed spinning away and taking out the other two that remained before staring at the one that cut him.

Matthew was finally down to only one opponent, but that one seemed to be giving him more trouble than the others. Finally, after endless minutes, the Canadian was able to take out the last one. He walked back into the hotel lobby, breathing heavily but mostly uninjured.

"Thanks for holding Kumakira for me, Al."

Alfred nearly yelled at his brother for being so nonchalant about everything, but decided it was more important to take care of the situation. He ended up calling the police and telling them he and his twin were attacked. They had been forced to kill to save their own lives.

After over an hour of interrogation, they were allowed to go to the hospital to get their wounds stitched up. Luckily, the countries rarely got infections so they would be fine in a few days.

* * *

"It's a good thing that there were enough witnesses to vouch for us wasn't it." Canada asked as they were making their way back to the hotel again. He was humming slightly and seemed to be in a good mood now.

"Yeah, it was. But something you said is bugging me. What happened when I tried to help people but they ended up getting killed?"

The small smile that had been gracing Matthew's face since they had left the hospital quickly fell as he heard the question.

"We were at a meeting to come up with a plan for how to deal with those things but Kiku never showed up. You decided that you were going to play the hero and went to find him along with a couple other nations, only one person survived."

Alfred felt like he had just been punched in the gut. He knew Mattie had seen him . . . die. That was still hard for him to accept. That must mean he was the only survivor and that Alfred had died because of his own stupidity. Oh my god, why did he have to do that? He was really going to have to be more careful.

"I'm so sorry Mattie. I will try to be better this time around."

"Let's see if you can stick to that, I'd hate to have to shoot you again." Matthew smirked.

"Sure you would, I recognize that smirk. You would do it again if you had an excuse."

Alfred smiled at his brother as he accused him. They were incredibly close, but their way of expressing affection tended to be a little more on the violent side.

"Well it is an effective way to keep you out of trouble." Matthew shrugged. "We should have time before anymore show up though, apparently testing really hasn't started."

Alfred let out a sigh of relief. "Oh good, so we still might be able to stop it. Well, what now?"

"Now we prepare, luckily I got plenty of practice with weapons development and gathering information. Now that we've got time I can build a few things while we wait for Feliciano's people to make their move. Of course I'll also have to spend some of that time teaching you to survive." Matthew sighed shaking his head.

"I'm not helpless," muttered Alfred sullenly. He did brighten a bit as he got an idea though. "Dude, we can raid my gun collection for this!"

"You're right, you're not helpless but you don't know their behaviors like I do. Do you have a knife collection too? I think four guns are enough for now but sometimes that sword can be hard to hide." Matthew questioned thoughtfully.

"Don't ask stupid questions, bro. Of course I have a knife collection! And I have a bunch of grenades and rockets and . . . oh yeah I have a tank too! We'll be totally badass!" Alfred was nearly jumping for joy at the fact that he might actually get to use some of his weapons again.

"Tanks aren't the best weapon in this case Al, if they manage to get close then you can't really get away fast enough." Matthew muttered. "Grenades could be useful against large groups though."

"Then let's go. Time's a-wastin'." The brothers ended up back in their hotel room, slowly working on plans. Well, Matthew worked on the plans again while Alfred ended up distracted by the television, but it was probably better that way anyway. America could fight, but he wasn't the best with strategy.


	9. Discovery

**As usual, we don't own Hetalia. I'm sure you all know that by now so this will be our final disclaimer of this fic.**

Feliciano had dozed off, when his phone buzzed. Slightly disgruntled, he checked it, and saw a text from Matthew. He stretched, and checked his phone. He read it, and then put his phone away. He was right, they were getting smarter.

" , we are changing our course." Feliciano looked out his window, watching the sun crest the horizon.

"Sir?" The driver looked back at Feliciano.

"Take me to the Vatican. Immidiately." The driver paled.

"Y-yes sir!" The bullet proof Mercedes S600 Pullman Guard screeched, turning a sharp corner, leaving skid marks. Feliciano ducked his head. He needed to warn the church about what was going on. It sped forward, the landscape rushing past. His phone rang, playing a lovely Enya melody. He had to give it to the American's, they knew music. Not good music, but it was amusing to a degree. He answered.

"Feliciano Vargas." He inspected his nails. He needed a manicure, or _something._

"Feli, where are you?" The gruff voice of Ludwig asked. Feliciano jumped up, the younger countries voice startling him. It'd been a while since such a condescending..._worried _tone spoke to him. Feliciano smiled.

"Ve! On my way to the Vatican." He answered.

"Why?" he asked, his voice with a note of surprise.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be home in no time." He clicked his phone shut, and leaned against the leather of his seats. He smiled at his phone. He didn't like to lie to Ludwig. The car screeched to a stop in front of a large, decorative building, and Feliciano stepped into the light glow of the morning. He briskly approached the building, not even bothering to knock on the large doors. When inside, he walked into the one of the confession boxes, and sat down on the small seat. "Mi perdoni Padre, perchè ho peccato" The small viewing window opened.

"I'm afraid that no penance on earth could save you from the flames of hell, Feliciano." Was the amused remark. Feliciano shook his head, a small smile on his face.

"I need to speak to you. Privately." Feliciano replied, equally amused. The man on the other side sighed dramatically.

"You are in a small sound-proof box. What is more private then that?" Feliciano raised an eyebrow at the voice.

"Father.." he grumbled. There was a small click, and the back of the confessional opened up. Stairs were barely lit by the candle in Feliciano's box. Feliciano went down the steps, taking two at a time. A soft sound of cloth rustling on stone followed him into a mass of activity. Priests and Friars were darting to and fro, with assortments of books and quills. The Priest who he had spoken to him motioned him forward, leading him to a small office to the side.

"What is it, Feliciano?" He asked when they were in the small room.

"Humans have been infected with a disease...it messes with their mind and makes them raging, savage beasts of carnage. You must prepare for what may be a supernatural war." The Priest rose his eyebrows.

"It is true, we have been getting reports of this. We have seen things like this before, and we have put them down." Feliciano shook his head.

"Not like this." He stood, and leaned over the table. "You know who I am, Father, you know my information is true. Prepare. "He stood and brushed himself off. The Priest nodded gravely.

"Very well. Be on your way then, Feliciano. God be with you." He made the sign against evil on his chest. Feliciano left, and went towards an entrance to a tunnel not too far away. Once he had opened the secret door, he walked into an illuminated passageway, knowing his brother was there before he spoke.

"So. What's going on?" Lovino asked, his arms crossed across his chest. Feliciano looked at his brother, then encircled him in a hug, bringing his head to his chest. He kissed the top of his older brother's head, much to his disdain. "Hey, get off!" He struggled against his brother's hold.

"It's so good to see you again, fratello." His brother stopped trying to get free.

"Now I'm frightened." He muttered. Feliciano let go after a moment.

"I need to explain." He told his older brother.

"No shit, dumbass." Lovino raised an eyebrow. Feliciano chuckled.

"Do you remember the AIDS cure that the scientists in Madagascar were putting through testing?" Feliciano asked, putting his hands in his pockets, and taking long strides until he reached a small room not too far away. Lovino followed, lighting candles in what seemed to be a small living room.

"Of course. Who didn't hear about it?" He unceremoniously plopped himself on a nearby loveseat, stretching out and letting his legs dangle over the edge.

"I know this sounds insane, but I am from the future. Eleven years, to be exact." Feliciano clasped his hands, and waited for his brother's response.

"That must be exciting." he commented dryly. Feliciano sighed. He slowly unbuttoned his shirt.

"We sleep in the same bed, tell me, when did I get this scar?" He watched as his brother's eye traced the long scar that extended from his collarbone to his navel.

"That changes everything." He sat up, and looked Feliciano straight in the eye. "I died didn't I?" Feliciano nodded. Lovino sighed. "How?"

"Protecting me." He replied softly. It was Lovino's turn to comfort Feliciano. He stood up and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Fratello, you don't need to feel bad. You came back to protect me, didn't you?" Feliciano nodded and smiled.

"And it has never been better to see you." Lovino wrapped his arms around his sibling, and let him cry into his shirt.

"You're getting my shirt wet." Lovino grumbled. Feliciano chuckled, and raised his head, wiping away his tears. "By the way, how'd you get back?" Feliciano shrugged, secretly happy at how readily Lovino had accepted what happened.

"Mateo stole Artie's spell books after he died. Then he found me while I was on a food run. We banded together, and some magic mirrors, a glowing circle, and a bit of smoke later, we were in the middle of a meeting. Not to mention a Cerberus, and lovely humans who like ripping people apart limb from limb." Lovino raised an eyebrow.

"Is that how I died? As well as the other countries? Because honestly, if I was the last country on earth, I'd choose Francis over you." Feliciano smiled sadly.

"Unfortunately, yes. But that is the future's past, we will change it." They moved back into the hallway, Lovino pelting him with questions. Feliciano answered them in turn, listing the countries in the order they died, flinching at Ludwig and Gilbert's names. Lovino turned on his heel and stared Feliciano directly in the face when they came in front of the door Feliciano had entered before. A large, half-moon table that was imbedded in the wall Feliciano hadn't noticed shone in the golden light let off be a nearby candelabra. Lovino approached his brother until Feliciano backed up into the table, glaring.

"So, are you in love with this Mateo?" Lovino asked seriously. Feliciano shook his head.

"As much as admire his courage, spirit, and will to live, I'm afraid I'm not into blondes." Lovino eyed him seriously, then stepped away.

"Good." Both looked towards the sound of the slap of shoes on stone, to see a disgruntled Matthew running towards them with a bag. Feliciano and Lovino shared a look. Behind him, the furry browed Brit kept the pace, and Feliciano tried not to giggle. Lovino snorted, and moved to one side of his brother to roll out a map.

"Hello Feliciano, Lovino." Matthew greeted running over to them. "These tunnels are useful."

"Naturally." Feliciano crossed his arms. Lovino rolled his eyes. Lovino flicked his eyes towards Arthur.

"Are you ditching the Brit, or is he invited to our save the world party too?"

"Lovino, be kind to Mateo." Feliciano chastised.

"I thought that the entrance in his basement only opened from inside the tunnels." Matthew sighed turning to face Arthur. "I'm trying to ditch him, I kinda stole his spell books. Just go away Arthur, you're not getting them back!"

"They're my bloody books you wanker! Hand them over!" The English man stopped, panting. He noticed the two Italians. "What are you doing down here?" He stopped and looked around. "Where in bloody hell am I?!" Feliciano tapped Matthew on the shoulder.

"Mateo...I don't think this a confrontation we can avoid." Feliciano gestured to Arthur. "He could be a useful ally." Lovino snorted, and muttered something degrading underneath his breath about the Brit.

"What on earth is going on?!" Arthur demanded.

"I think we should tell him, Mateo." Feliciano mused.

"Yeah, we probably should." Matthew sighed. "It's not like this is something we could cover up easy and he is good at tracking." Matthew looked thoughtful for a minute before handing his bag to Feliciano and moving closer to Arthur. "So Arthur, I have an important question for you. How long does a circle stay active when you travel through time? Is it long enough for you to be followed?"

Feliciano accepted the bag, placing it on the table farthest from Arthur. Lovino simply shrugged, waiting for a response.

"Why in bloody hell would you-" he stopped. "Well, it depends on the power of the spell. And the number of years you were going to travel." He eyed the Canadian. "You're not telling me you've tried to time travel?"

"Eleven years, or so I'm told." Lovino commented, inspecting a finger nail. "They suceeded too."

"Yeah, we got tired of the company trying to tear us to shreds so we decided to try out a spell I found in an old book and here we are." Matthew stated lightly. "We just weren't expecting the welcome committee that wants us dead. You did get my text about the second group right Feliciano?" He asked looking at the Italian for a minute.

"Humans infected with this new 'Miracle Drug'." Feliciano picked up a portfolio that was on the half-moon table, and shoved it in Arthur's hands. "This explains what the drug is supposed to do." Arthur looked at Lovino who shrugged.

"Don't look at me, I found out a couple minutes ago myself." Arthur swallowed, and tucked the portfolio under his arm.

"It'd make sense." he forced out. "I saw you the other day... when you left the meeting. No offense, but I _never_ see you... and the foreboding..." He closed his eyes briefly, pinching the bridge of his nose, before his eyes shot open. "Have you told your brother?"

"Alfred knows, he wouldn't leave me alone for once and I didn't have time to adjust to everything before he noticed something was wrong. He also knows that he's not allowed to play the hero this time around." Matthew smirked slightly.

"Would it be easier for you to believe if I showed you that I now have two copies of your spell books?" Matthew asked cheerfully. "You shouldn't be too mean to him Feliciano, he is family to me. I plan to protect him even though he can't tell me apart from Alfred."

"I am being nice. I'm telling the truth. I'm not going to lie anymore if he knows." Feliciano commented. "Do we want to go somewhere and sit down? I do have that tea you enjoy."

"I think I can believe it." Arthur said, then nodded at Feliciano. "I think tea might be appropriate… yes." Feliciano smiled and led them down the hallway, whistling a tune from an old Italian play.

"We shall play his game, perform his work, but remember we hold the ace." Lovino spoke under his breath. He raised an eyebrow at his younger brother, who continued whistling.

"You're honestly better off without these books." Matthew informed Arthur as he went to the table and grabbed his bag again before starting to follow after the Italians. "We should follow them, they are our allies and know this place a lot better than me."

"Here we are." Feliciano swept his hand along a thin crack on the wall, and it slid open. Arthur gaped, and looked at Matthew for an explanation.

Lovino pushed ahead of the others, and lit the candles. Feliciano followed after.

"Welcome, sit while I brew you some tea." he guided Arthur to a chair by a flickering fire. "Lovino, would you call-" There was a shout from the hallway, and Feliciano momentarily was puzzled. Nothing could get in these tunnels without Italian blood, or Feliciano's express permission. Moments later, he heard a panting outside the wall that had been the door moments ago. He looked at Matthew. "Did you leave the door open?"

"Arthur was the last one to enter." Matthew stated looking at the Brit.

"Damn it! I demand you open this door for the awesome Gilbert?" Feliciano face-palmed, and Lovino gave him a dirty look.

"Is that Gilbert?" Arthur asked, looking at Feliciano.

"Ludwig must have sent him to find me...and Ludwig just happens to know how to get in." Feliciano cursed.

"What are you going to do now?" Lovino hissed. "Pretend to be a stone wall? Say nobody's home?"

"The question is, do we want him to know? If not then we should pretend to not be here." Matthew muttered looking at Feliciano.

"How much you want to bet he already saw us?" Lovino asked, looking at Arthur.

"Not many ol' chap." He looked at Feliciano also.

"If we don't let him in, he's going to get lost, and probably die." Feliciano stated.

"In truth, Gilbert has been better at keeping secrets.." Feliciano bit his lip.

"Let's hope he can keep one this big then." Matthew sighed. "I don't think this is something that should be known by everyone."

"Hopefully this is the last person who needs to know." He kicked the wall, and a very flustered Gilbert toppled into the room. Gilbert quickly stood, and grabbed Feliciano by the collar.

"What do you think you're doing?! Closing the door on me was one of the most un-awesome things for you to do!" Feliciano held up his hands in defense.

"Gilbert, calm down." he grabbed the hand tightly clapsed a little too close to his neck for his comfort. "I'm not trying to keep you out of anything." Gilbert eyed him suspiciously.

"So then what is with this secret group of misfits in underground tunnels? I heard you speaking to Arthur about time travelling, is it true?" He demanded.

Feliciano looked at Matthew desperately for help.

"Depends on who you ask, we know it is though." Matthew stated stepping forward a little. "I'm curious how much of our conversation you heard."

"Personally, I think you're all insane, but what do I know?" Arthur commented, voice vague.

Translations

_Mi perdoni Padre, perchè ho peccato - Forgive me father, for I have sinned._

_I am so sorry that this chapter took so long, honestly I have had a horrible week and didn't want to take it out in my writing. Thank you for being so patient and sticking with us. On a happier note, Abandon and I were wondering if someone would be willing to draw us a cover art? _

_Unara Akoni  
_

_Dear our lovely readers!_

_I apologize so dearly for our late updates! We have had a hard time at stuff, yes, yes. My laptop went down for two weeks. I also have been working until two in the morning most nights, and have been so exhausted. We may not update this weekend, because we are going to NatsuCon, but we might, so keep watch! As a gift, I have given you an outtake below. Enjoy!_

_-I Will Abandon Heaven For You (Why is my name so long?)  
_

_Romano: Hey, author lady._

_Abandon: Yes? -writing brother scene-_

_Romano: Is there going to be a sex scene?_

_Abandon: No._

_Romano: What? Canada can join in too._

_Abandon: …..Wait...sex scene with who?_

_Romano: My brother and I of course._

_Abandon: O.O Twincest?_

_Romano: Yes!_

_Abandon: No. Never._

_Romano: I WANT TWINCEST!_

_Abandon: -slaps with fish- NO! NO!_

_Italy: Ve, I think we need pairings._

_Abandon: -_-_


	10. A New Discovery

Matthew winced at Arthur's comment; the island nation never listened to him. Sighing he turned to face Feliciano. "I have better things to be doing now that I've made sure another nation won't get himself killed through stupidity. Sorry to leave you with this group." He moved towards the door, eyes hardening as he moved away from his founding father.

Feliciano watched as Matthew left and sighed.

"Wow…that was totally unawesome. " Gilbert commented, sticking his hands in his pockets. "You should go cheer him up Feli." Feliciano nodded.

"Lovino." He nodded to his brother. "I'm going to go talk to Matthew…can you keep these guys safe?" Lovino flapped a hand at Feliciano's concern.

"They're just European countries, it won't be hard. Besides, that one looks like he's having a mental breakdown." He pointed to Arthur, who was rocking back and self, and talking to himself.

"Hey!" Gilbert called, as Feliciano started to leave. "I want to come with you!" Feliciano whipped around, and glared at the white haired personification.

"You will stay here, _Gilbert._" He hissed. "I am in a bad enough mood already." And he was gone.

"My fratello is angry, Gilly. I wouldn't go after him if I were you." Lovino went over and poked Arthur.

* * *

"Mateo." Feliciano grabbed his shoulder, turning him towards him.

"You should know better than to grab me after everything we've been through Feliciano." Matthew commented; relaxing slowly as he realized there was no threat. "It's not the safest thing to do when I'm armed."

"Mateo...He's shocked. Don't blame him for hurting you, please." Feliciano's eyes softened as he brought the Canadian into a hug. "He will understand, give him time."

"I know but I'm not going to go through that crap again. I have been ignored and treated like-" Matthew cut off inhaling sharply, closing his eyes. Feliciano hugged him tighter.

"We are here to change history, not repeat it." He tipped Matthew's face up, seeing the tears threatening to overflow. "It is okay to cry, Mateo. This is not only on your shoulders, anymore. We are here for you. _I _am here for you."

"I told myself I was finished crying after I watched Francis get torn to shreds." Matthew stated, pain evident in his voice. "It's the only way I could get myself out of there when the fight was over."

"Wait! What?!" A startled Gilbert fell through the wall. "The Frenchmen died?!"

"Gilbert." Feliciano growled. "I told you not to follow me." Instead of acknowledging Feliciano, Gilbert walked past him, next to the Canadian, who Feliciano had let go of.

"The Awesome Gilbert is sorry he died before he could help!" He grabbed the Canadian's hands in his. "I promise I won't be as useless this time around!"

"You were probably one of the more useful countries unlike a certain island nation. Besides, you at least had an excuse why you we're unable to help." Matthew looked towards the floor in irritation.

"Actually…" Feliciano crossed his arms. "You were hit by a car." Gilbert dropped Matthew's hands.

"At least he survived one fight." Matthew muttered scoffing slightly.

"I got...hit…by a CAR?!" Gilbert exclaimed. "That is the most unawesome deaths ever imagined!"

"Calm down. I'd prefer that over dying by those…creatures." Feliciano told him. He walked over and patted Gilbert on the shoulder.

"Yeah, sometimes they try to eat you." Matthew added rubbing at the scar on his arm. Gilbert laughed nervously.

"I prefer not to be eaten, even though I'd taste incredibly awesome." He boasted. Feliciano kept a straight face, and walked back down the hallway. Gilbert blinked. Did the Italian country's hair look longer? "Hey…did I say something?" He called to Feliciano, who cheerfully waved.

"Pasta!" Was his sickly sweet reply.

"Yeah, you said something alright. You don't believe us either do you?" Matthew questioned looking at the nation with cold eyes.

"I am not my brother," was Gilbert's stiff reply. "Unlike him, I trust my friend's word." He nodded to the retreating back of Feliciano. "Please, don't compare me to that chauvinist."

"Well it's not like we've had luck convincing people today." Matthew shrugged slightly. Gilbert placed a hand on Matthew's shoulder.

"Half the work involved in being a hero is convincing people you aren't crazy, Mattie." Then he followed Feliciano, hands folded behind his head.

"I'm not a hero, I can't stand them." Matthew growled loud enough for the retreating country to hear. "They only get people killed." He turned and opened the door to the room where Arthur and Lovino were. "Still having problems accepting the truth, England?" he demanded, leaning against the wall. Lovino whistled and stepped back from the furry-browed Brit.

"M-Matthew. I'm s-sorry." Arthur chattered, shaking. He buried his head in his knees. "I just don't know how to accept this. My baby brother…has come to save me…when I'm supposed to protect him." Arthur sobbed. "I died on you." Matthew visibly flinched at seeing the country breaking down before him.

"You were one of the first deaths." He sighed, anger flowing from him. "You had no idea what you were up against and at least you did something. I just sat there and watched as they killed both you and Alfred." Arthur raised his head, and then lurched off the chair. He grabbed at Matthew, wrapping his shaking limbs around the Canadian.

"Can..can you forgive me, Mattie?" He asked, his eyes red and watery.

"There is nothing to forgive you for, I never blamed you for anything. It was your books and notes that kept me alive anyways, I'm just here to return the favor." Matthew replied slowly wrapping his arms around Arthur. '_And to clear my conscious.' _ He added to himself. Lovino cleared his throat.

"Can we have this love-fest when the fate of the world doesn't lie in our hands? I know this a touching scene and all, but we have important things to do." Arthur looked of, glaring. "Eh heh heh…never mind." He waved his hand in front of him. "I'll be in the hallway." He edged towards the door, and left, entering the hallway. "Now where'd those two run off too?"

"So are you going to be ok? You normally aren't the one to break down like that." Matthew questioned looking uncomfortable. Arthur let go of Matthew, and adjusted his clothes. He gave him a weak smile.

"Yes, I think I will."

* * *

Feliciano turned a corner, Gilbert followed behind. When they had entered the sea tunnel, Feliciano turned around and faced Gilbert.

"What do you want Gilly? Do you want it back the way it was? Too bad." Gilbert shook his head.

"No. You made sure that Mattie is okay…but are you?" He asked. Feliciano looked down.

"I will be fine. I am not as broken as Mateo seems to be." He clutched the part of the shirt over his heart. "I always will be, you don't need to worry." Gilbert grabbed Feliciano's shoulders, and forced him to look up.

"Don't pull that shit with me, Feli. I know you too damn well to believe that." Two copper eyes stared into Gilbert's own.

"Gilbert..I-" Gilbert put a finger to his lips.

"Don't say you're alright." He smiled softly at the Italian. "Don't lie to me." Feliciano let some tears fall, not moving, his fists still clenched.

"Why do you care so much, Gilly?" Feliciano asked; his head lowered. "What do you gain?"

"Friendship. Trust. Loyalty. Things I've lost since my country fell. " Feliciano threw his arms around the older countries waist, sobbing. Gilbert rubbed soothing circles into Feliciano's back.

"I'm sorry, I got your shirt wet. " Feliciano rubbed his eyes.

"It's a shirt, Feli." Gilbert chuckled. "Come on, Lovino will be worried." He held his hand out, and Feliciano took it, eyes still wet, and he smiled his first honest smile since he returned.

* * *

"So I noticed once that you are able to pull your sword out of thin air," Matthew began, trying to lighten the mood. "How do you do that? It's kinda hard to hide one under my clothes." Arthur laughed at Matthew.

"Magic, of course." Arthur explained.

"Damn, I was hoping it was something else." Matthew sighed. "For some reason inanimate objects explode the first time I try magic on them and I really don't want this sword ruined." Arthur widened his eyes.

"Have you tried using a mediator?" He lifted a small stone that hung around his neck. "It helps concentrate your magical energy."

"I haven't really been able to look for one, I've had other things to worry about. I was always able to get the spells to work after a few tries... though putting spells on electronics is still iffy." Matthew muttered leaning forward to look at the stone.

"Why did you try to put it on electronics?" Arthur asked, alarmed.

"To make better weapons, once you manage to mix them you actually get some great results." Matthew explained cheerfully. "It also helped me perfect shielding magic." Arthur sighed.

"Perhaps..I should teach you a bit of magic, hm Mattie?" Arthur chuckled.

"No offense but from what I remember you aren't very good at magic either, though your background knowledge is better than mine." Matthew smiled slightly. "Everything I know not to do came from explosions… it's kinda fun actually."

"Only you and Alfred would ever say that." Arthur sighed. "Perhaps I can help you in the academic part of your studies then." He took a drink of his cold tea, and winced. "We should go find the others."

"Feliciano is in the tunnel near your house." Matthew muttered staring off into space for a minute. "And there's something else… in your house." He commented looking confused.

"What are you talking about Mattie?" Arthur looked confused.

"I don't know, I can just feel it." Matthew muttered pulling out his cellphone, calling Feliciano. "Hey I just noticed something strange and want to know if happens to you. Concentrate for a minute and see if you notice anything different." On the other end, Feliciano looked down at his pants.

_"Not getting anything."_

"Are you seriously looking _there_? That is not what I meant. Concentrate for a minute and see if you can tell where I am and also feel something else… outside the tunnel system in Arthur's basement." Matthew stated before turning to face Arthur with a panicked look. "Please tell me that door shut…."

"Of course I did!" Arthur huffed. Feliciano cleared his throat over the phone's speaker.

"_Hey guys….I do feel something odd..like a prickling feeling in the back of my head…" _Feliciano told them. "_I'll check it out." _The phone clicked as he hung up.

"Please be careful." Matthew muttered lowering the phone slowly. "So any ideas Arthur?"

"We need to find and help Feliciano." Arthur stood. "Let's go."

"He's entering your basement." Matthew stated throwing a gun to the Brit and running out the door as he pulled out his sword.

* * *

Gilbert followed Feliciano, as he yanked the guns from his belt.

"What's going on Feli?" Gilbert asked. Feliciano put a finger to his lips.

"We are going to investigate something that Mateo sensed…with our odd new powers." Gilbert nodded, and pulled a sword from thin air. Feliciano rolled his eyes.

"So, what are we hunting?" Gilbert whispered.

"Infected humans." Feliciano told him.

"What are they infected with?" Gilbert asked.

"A cure for AIDS. Now be quiet you big mouthed kout!" He hissed. Gilbert ignored him.

"So….a cure for AIDS made people…?" He let it hang.

"Crazy. Murderous. Do you want me to shoot you?" He balanced a hand on his hip, twirling a gun, and pointed one at his crotch.

"Nah..I like my body parts. Especially _that _body part." Feliciano lowered his guns, and went on, mumbling about idiots. He moved quietly to the door, which was hanging open. Feliciano face-palmed.

"Arthur!" He moaned, and swung himself into the room, guns at the eyes looked at him, and a loud grunt was the warning he got before one of the humans launched himself at Feliciano, who merely turned to the side, gut-kicking the infected human, then double-tapping him in the forehead, and once in the heart. Leaning over he spat on the body. "_Diavolo _Henchmen. Rot in hell with your creator." Gilbert stood in the door way.

"Well…that was kind of awesome." He leaned in the doorway. "Want to be my _kumpan_?" Feliciano rolled his eyes, and called Matthew.

"It's dead, Matthew. When I see Arthur again, he will suffer the wrath of my fists, and unopened doors."

"At least it didn't escape into the tunnel." Matthew sighed turning to face Arthur. "So the door was closed huh? This is our way of getting places quickly and our last haven that isn't frozen. We can't have it discovered."

"Yeah asshole!" He heard from the other end. "I'm on my way back now, we have things to discuss Mateo."

"That we do, I feel we just had a few questions answered." He replied before hanging up the phone.

_Diavlo- Devil (Italian)_

_Kumpan- Sidekick (German)_

_So I know there was a comment about how fast other countries are finding out about Feliciano and Matthew but we do have a reason for this. There shouldn't be anymore for a little while unless one of our muses decides to randomly jump in and refuses to leave._

_Unara Akoni_

_Dear readers.  
It's nice to see you again! We are a very busy pair!  
It's been a bit hectic, since school started for both of us recently. I know, there was a lot of drama in this chapter, hopefully some of the funny/cute moments helped. Don't worry, humor and less...moodiness approaches! While we weren't updating we were plotting, so calm yourselves. This story will never die! Well, it will end, but we won't abandon the lovely little thing, we love it as much as we love you guys! Special thanks to anyone who heard about us from NatsuCon! If you tell us who you are in the comments, we'll try our best to drop by and say hello in your PM box! (I'll do that anyway, to everyone, but oh well.) Well, enjoy! Another chapter is coming soon!_

-Abandon


	11. Change in Plans

Feliciano showed up not to long after the call, brushing past Arthur and dragging Matthew from the room.

"Mateo. Something is happening...I don't know what, but I have a feeling you do."

"I'm not completely sure but I do have a theory, though I haven't been able to test it though." Matthew sighed running a hand through his hair. "If I'm right then things are going to get really complicated."

Feliciano sighed. "I think...I think they're tracking us somehow, Mateo. Do you know what that means?" He looked directly in the Canadian's eyes. "They can find our families, Mateo. The people we wanted to protect."

"It's the magic, some spells can have unforeseen effects. It seems that the one used to bring us back also managed to link us somehow." Matthew closed his eyes and sighed. "They may not be tracking us though, and now that we noticed that we can sense them we can keep track of them."

"Do you want to take the chance?" Feliciano said softly. "'What do you need to prove this theory? I don't want to waste time, just in case they can find us as easily as we can find them." He ran a hand through his hair, murmuring to himself softly in Italian.

"We need to make sure the others don't go running into a fight unprepared. For all we know they may not be tracking us and when we go somewhere else they will get those left behind. We just need to stay long enough that they can learn what they're up against and how to survive. It would be good to have them prepare for if things get worse, it will be hard for us to do that on our own." Feliciano sighed in agreement.

"You're right, Mateo. I am starting to think you could have done this on your own." Feliciano said sadly. "You could have left me in the future. Would my existence in this time...change anything?" He looked at his open palm that was shaking visibly.

"I can't do this alone Feliciano, it's too big of a job." Matthew looked at Feliciano with a dark look in his eyes. "If anything happens to my family you may have to work without me for a while, I can't guarantee I will be thinking rationally at that point. I need you to make sure that things don't fall apart."

"Mateo." Feliciano shook his head. "You'd never get it." He took a deep breath. "So, what's our plan of action? I have nothing..." he shoved his hands in his pockets. "Like always…" he mumbled.

"I think that we should stick around and give the others jobs based on their strengths. If the things do come over us we can head to my hideout up North. No one could find us there." Matthew replied thoughtfully. "You should also get the people to break into the lab and steal the research."

"They tried." Feliciano brought a hand up to the bridge of his nose. "They failed. I need to call in some specialists. The kind that do not take kindly to be hired over a phone call. Meaning I need to take them out on an expensive brunch or some of that blather. On short notice they can get here in the next..." he looked at his Moinet Magistralis. "...four hours. I think we'll need to split up...for now." He looked at Matthew seriously. "Call me if anything goes wrong, do you understand?"

"Of course, though we should figure out their roles before we split. I need to talk to my government about stocking up the hideout. This isn't exactly the best time of year for finding food or traveling with it the way we will have to."

"Let's go somewhere private where rude eavesdroppers can't find us, ve?" Feliciano swept a hand down the hallway. "We seem to be collecting them."

"We're countries, if you don't eavesdrop you won't last long." Matthew shrugged.

"Still, I'd rather not stand in the middle of the hallway." He raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Hey, have you forgotten? The Awesome Gilbert is still here!" Feliciano turned to see Gilbert, looking severely insulted.

"Oh, hello Gilly. I did seem to have forgotten your presence. Why don't you go to find my fratello? He is running around this place...somewhere. Despite the fact that he knows the layout well, he may still have gotten lost along the way." Gilbert shook his head.

"You're trying to get rid of me Kumpan!" He waggled a finger. "Why won't you let me stay?"

"We have important things to discuss that we will need Romano for later. It wouldn't be good if he was lost now would it? You should probably tell Arthur to stay in the tunnels too." Matthew stated drily. "You'll hear everything when the others find out." Gilbert pouted.

"And how am I supposed to find my way around this maze?"

"You don't know your way?" Matthew raised an eyebrow. "You were able to find us earlier."

"I can't explain it...I just..." he looked at Feliciano, narrowing his eyes. "What's in your pocket, Feli?

Feliciano's eyebrows shot up.

"What are you talking about-" he roughly pushed Feliciano against the wall, only to find a Ruger, loaded pointing in his face. Feliciano's finger looked awfully twitchy on the trigger. "I dare you, Gilbert." he sneered.

"F-feli-" The gun pressed up against the fallen countries nose.

"Step away Gilbert, find my brother." Gilbert backed up, and then fled down the hallway, not caring where he ended up.

"Glad to know I'm not the only one who isn't afraid to use a gun to get things done." Matthew commented lightly. "So lead the way to where we can talk." Feliciano put the gun back in his belt, the switch still turned to 'safety'.

"Yes." He ran a finger along his lip. "But what room? Somewhere out of the way, where no one will stumble upon us by accident… or purpose." He thought carefully, many different things churning through his mind. "Perhaps...yes."

"So you do have a place in mind right?" Matthew questioned raising an eyebrow. Feliciano looked at him blandly.

"No. I was remembering an old recipe my grandfather taught me. What do you think I was doing, Mateo?"

"For all I know you could have been remembering that recipe." Matthew commented in a slightly joking tone. Feliciano chuckled.

"Well come on then." He strolled away from Matthew down the hallway, looking back at him only once. "Hello? I know there's no cell phone service where you're from, but I'm not that far away."

"The only place we don't get signal is actually where we will be going if we are being followed. You'd be surprised how far it is."

"I suppose I will be. I've never been to Canada." He turned a corner into a darker hallway, that illuminated by a single candle at the end. Feliciano walked towards it, and then disappeared.

"I'll be sure to have extra snow gear prepared for you then, I doubt anything you have would be good enough." Matthew quickened his pace a little staring at where the Italian had disappeared. The room around Matthew disappeared as well as all light.

"Well this is creepy." He muttered holding his hand out in front of him so he wouldn't walk into anything.

"Calm down Mateo." A hand grabbed his lightly, so not to scare the Canadian. "Just keep coming this way." he tugged slightly.

"Why is it so dark here?" Matthew questioned following after the Italian while trying to keep calm.

"I bet you're tired of hearing 'magic' as the reason for everything." There was a soft shuffling and a match being struck. A single match illuminated a long passageway. Feliciano's face looked haunted in the light, an almost manic grin stretching from ear to ear. "

"These walls are lined with magnesium. Currently, there is enough in these walls to blow us kindly to smithereens. Ergo, my Canadian friend, you are standing in a death trap. Would you kindly step up here?" He pointed to the ground beneath him that was slightly above the rest.

"You know we could probably put some of this to use." Matthew muttered stepping up onto the raised ground.

"Probably." Feliciano shrugged and pushed a door open. It creaked eerily, to a room lit by wooden torches that were placed across the room, they looked as if they were strategically placed the same distance from each other. In the middle of the room a large, circular, weathered table with knife marks cut deep into it was placed. Just as worn chairs were placed around it, though they had new, soft cushions set upon the hard wood. "Mateo, let me present to you the round table of King Arthur." He gestured to it. "We took in from Arthur..." he chuckled at the similarity of the names. "Years ago. He still hasn't found it." He picked up a golden goblet. "Or this."

"Poor Arthur, everyone steals from him." Matthew laughed sitting down in one of the chairs. Feliciano pulled a stopper out of a nearby jug, and poured a dark dry wine into it.

"Would you like something to drink Mateo? You probably aren't much for alcohol, but I'm sure I have something you'd like here. This place is well stocked, for now." He looked into the goblet. "10 years underground with semi-collapsed tunnels is a different story."

"I'll just take some water please." Matthew quietly responded as he began to lose himself in thoughts on what to do with their current situation.

Feliciano picked up a different cup, it definitely from the Italian renaissance. He poured cool water from a different jug. He placed the cup in front of Matthew, and then sat down next to him. He took a long drink from his own cup, and then took a look at the Canadian.

"So, let's figure this out, ve?"

"That's what I've been trying to do. Things are already different than before so it's just that much harder to plan." Matthew mused as he traced along a line in the table.

"We'll figure it out." Feliciano assured him. "We just have to think, we've survived well enough so far on our wits, right?" He smiled at Matthew. "Do you know why there are so many cuts on this table, Mateo?"

"How would I know something like that?" Matthew questioned looking up at his companion.

"I forget, you're so young." He traced a long line, cut diagonally. "A long time ago, people weren't as germ conscious as they are now. Instead of placing meat on a plate, they'd throw it on the table, take their knife...and just roughly cut the meat into slices, same with bread. We need to give them things to do while we're away. If you keep a person busy, they worry less."

"Giving them jobs could help us in the long run too, as long as it's something they're good at." Matthew mused. "Like if we have Arthur gather information."

"He is especially good at spying." Feliciano propped his feet on the table. "Gilbert has wonderful organization skills...and Lovino is head of the Italian mafia. He could surely provide us with loyal humans. No one forces the mafia to do anything they don't want to do-" There was a resounding knock from a small space between two torches.

"I think my guests are here. Please, for the sake of our lives, and that of the people we love, do NOT speak to them."

"Ok, I'll trust you with this." Matthew replied.

Moments later, a large man dressed in a fine suit walked in, followed by a young woman, who looked a bit mousy. Not a hair was out of place in her rather simple outfit, unlike the man who came after her, the door shutting quietly behind him.

"Hello." Feliciano nodded at him. The second man who came through the door came to where Feliciano was sitting and grasped his hand in a rough handshake.

"So you're the man behind the money, eh?" He asked, ruffling his hair a bit. Feliciano raised an eyebrow.

"Don't mind him." the woman spoke coldly, straightening her already perfectly arranged outfit. "He's Canadian, and has a mouth that tends to outrun itself." Feliciano snickered, looking at his own tight lipped Canadian.

"There is no need to apologize." Feliciano held up a hand. When he noticed the wary looks shot at Matthew by the bodyguard and the woman he gestured to him. "This is Matthew Williams. He's my trusted friend, and more often than not, my bodyguard. "

Matthew just looked over the group with a blank stare, inclining his head slightly in agreement.

"Please sit down." Feliciano gestured to the chairs on the other side of the table. Without further ado, the second man with sandy blonde hair plopped down ungraceful-like into one. The woman looked down at him with disgust, then sat as far away from him without being disrespectful to Feliciano.

"You have called us here... together." She commented lightly. "This must be something bigger than the simple art you normally have me steal." The blonde haired man perked up.

"Yeah! I've never met you before, but a lot of my carving goes into the reproductions you make of artifacts you have miss-too-big-for-her-size-zero-pants steal." She shot a glare at him, and the bodyguard tensed. Feliciano smiled in a charming manner and raised a hand.

"No violence, please." He spread his hands. "I myself am unarmed, but my friend is a different story." Feliciano lied through his teeth, leaning across the table.

"Of course not. Now, what is the nature of your request?" The woman asked, ignoring the sandy-haired man, good-naturedly making faces at her.

"Top research facility in Madagascar. I need you two to steal every shred of research you can find, no matter what it may be about. A cure for the common cold or something to eliminate cancer cells efficiently. I need it all. Then I want you to wipe the computers..." he pulled out a small hard drive. "...and upload this on to the servers. You will take care of anything physical." he nodded to the woman, who seemed to be pondering the financial possibilities of such a big job. "You will be on computers." he nodded to the sandy haired man.

"That's a lot to do." the woman tilted her head. "How much?"

"10 million in gold. Each." The sandy haired man whistled, leaning back.

"That's a lot of money. Especially with gold prices spiking like they are. A coupled more years and that could...well double." He played with a strand of hair rolling it in his hands. The woman merely raised an eyebrow.

"This is a very important job, apparently. No Italian would ever part with that much money so willingly, without cause. Planning on taking over the world by controlling who gets sick?" Feliciano shook his head.

"Never in a million years. I will pay you a quarter of the money now, if you accept." he inspected his fingernails. "When you come back with the information, I will give you another quarter. If it checks out, the last half is yours. If not..." Feliciano shrugged. "Well, you won't be around to spend your newly found fortune, ve?" he ended the sentence in a cheery manner.

The young woman tensed, and her bodyguard moved slightly, probably to better reach a gun. The sandy haired man merely yawned.

"The money talks, I obey." He got up, his gangly limbs moving effectively. Feliciano looked at the woman, who tilted her head.

"I doubt I could refuse, with such a high price." She placed her hand on the table and rose.

"Very well." Feliciano himself rose, and walked across the room, opening a well-disguised laptop. He clicked something or another, along with a few keys.

"The first part of your money has been sent to your bank accounts in the Swiss bank currently under my...light hand." he wiggled his fingers.

"Bastardo." The woman slammed a hand on the table. "We can't get our money until you're satisfied!"

"I always knew you were intelligent." he pulled two envelopes from nearby, and placed them across the table, and slid them to the two. "Ciao now, doves." They took their respective folders, and the woman left with a curt bow. The sandy haired man left, body swinging lazily. Once they left, Feliciano placed a finger on his lips.

"I do hope the blond one kills her first. I like him better."

"They both seem annoying to me." Matthew replied leaning back in his chair. "Though I guess that doesn't matter as long as they get the job."

"I suppose." He folded his arms over his chest. "That's out of the way. We'll know in a few days, when one or the other comes back. Care to make a bet on which one will open the envelope first?" He inspected his nails, and frowned. "I'm going to guess that the Arctic Circle doesn't have a nail salon."

"Why would it have that? It's not like people go there for fun." Matthew scoffed.

Feliciano sighed, and dropped his hand. "I guess it'd be no use to get them done before hand." He mused. He propped his chin on his hand and looked at Matthew. "So that whole plan is set in motion, what other twisted path must we turn unto now?"

"Well as I said before, we need to prepare the others. There's no point in them even knowing if they can't help."

"You deal with Arthur and Alfredo then. I don't think I could spend five seconds in your brother's presence before maiming him, besides, they trust you." Feliciano finished.

"Don't worry Feliciano, I'm sure the feeling is mutual. I'll deal with them before going to see my boss." Matthew smiled slightly.

"Then this is where we part ways...temporarily." He stood. "I will see you on the flight to the Canadian border..." A look of worry came in his eyes, and he laid a hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Be careful Mateo."

"You too Feliciano."


	12. Italian Preparations

Feliciano walked into the darkness, not even bothering to feel along the walls.

"I'm proud of you, fratello." Feliciano heard his brother whisper, coming up beside him. "You didn't shoot anyone this time." Feliciano snorted, stepping up, and opening yet another door. The room glowed in beautiful in a domed chandelier. Light glinted off the crystals, turning this way and that, spinning.

"Hey, kumpan!" Gilbert looked up from a map, smiling. Atop his head was his old pirate hat, the feather bobbing here and there. Feliciano rose an eyebrow.

"Where'd you find that, Gilly?" Feliciano asked, sitting down in a nearby arm-chair, propping his feet on the table.

"It was laying on the table." Gilbert shrugged, going back to inspecting the map. "I'm on here you know. Right there. The Awesome Gilbert!"

"The Awesome loser." Lovino told him, filing his nails. Gilbert stuck out his tongue.

"You're just jealous."

"Of what?" Lovino leaned against the wall.

"The hat, obviously." Gilbert said blandly. Lovino guffawed, and Feliciano chuckled.

"Well I..." Lovino huffed, and began to storm off.

"Lovino, sit down." Feliciano smiled at his brother, who took a seat next to him, looking away from where Gilbert was. Feliciano put a hand on his shoulder. "There's no reason to be nasty to each other. We are, in fact, in this together." Lovino didn't respond, so Feliciano sighed.

"The Awesome me was correct!" Gilbert leaned back in his chair, boasting. "See? It has always been the hat."

"It has." Feliciano folded his hands over his stomach. "And the boots." Gilbert frowned.

"I can't find my boots. Do you have those lying somewhere around here too, you unawesome little thief?" Feliciano shrugged at the insult.

"I am in a business to protect the past for the future generations. It'd do no good if you were forgotten." Gilbert's mouth snapped shut at this, and he began to brood. Lovino smiled gleefully at the countries discomfort. "Lovino. Gilbert. I have something to tell you." They both brought their eyes to Feliciano.

"What is it? Another sarcastic comment about that makes the unawesome art of stealing okay in an Italian's eyes?" Gilbert sneered.

"All thievery is legal in an Italian's eyes." Romano retorted. Feliciano swung his feet off the table, and slammed his hand down onto it.

"Stop acting like children! I did not go through ten years of hiding for you two too act like this is some sort of game!" Both of them looked at Feliciano, eyes wide. He was shaking badly, clutching at something in his pocket. Luckily his suit was dark enough that they didn't see the blood the Iron Cross was causing to run down his hand because of the worn away metal cutting into his skin.

"C-calm down kumpan!" Gilbert laughed nervously.

"Yeah..sometimes you have to laugh, Feli." Feliciano sat down at his brothers words, listening as he continued. "What you've been through has changed you. We know that..but we haven't. We want to help...but you've got to give us something to do." Feliciano took a deep breath.

"Lovino. Do you know our current trade ties with Germany?" Lovino nodded. "Double them. Pump funds into chemicals, guns, anything we would need for an all out war with America." Lovino rose an eyebrow.

"America? Why America?" Gilbert asked. Lovino crossed his arms.

"They are the largest threat to the world, of course." He told him.

"Make sense I guess. But won't that alert the other countries that you're preparing for war? Or at least it will make them think that." Feliciano snorted.

"The media knows what we want them to know. Besides, Alfred is in the loop, and he's about the only country that sees Italy as a possible threat."

"He sees _everyone _as a possible threat." Lovino pointed out, and Feliciano nodded in agreement.

"What about Ludwig? He'll notice something."

Feliciano smiled wolfishly. "Well..you'll have to..re-route those documents, won't you?"

Gilbert chuckled. "You're good. Why does my bruder even need to know there's an increase in any sort of production?"

"You also need to organize it to where it could get anywhere..fast. I trust Lovino to teach you the tunnels." Lovino looked at his brother, sensing something was up.

"Why are you telling us this, Feli? Are you going somewhere?" Feliciano nodded.

"They can find me. Somehow..the things that killed off ninety five percent of the world, can find Mateo and I. If we stay here...they'll kill you too." There was a degree of hurt in his eyes that made both Gilbert and Lovino keep from complaining, or begging to come with him. "I don't know when we'll be back..so you have to listen to me now. Gilbert will organize distribution to Alfred and Arthur, as well as around Italy. For now, Lovino, you will do both manufacturing and distribution, as well as the army." Lovino and Gilbert nodded, and Feliciano stood.

"Wait- what are you doing now?" Feliciano turned his head from them.

"Getting a manicure and packing my bags. What else?" Lovino stood.

"No you are not!" He launched himself at his brother, wrapping his arms around him. "You aren't going anywhere...not yet..not with a crappy goodbye like that." Tears were leaking out of the corner's of Lovino's eyes. "Stupid bastard." He muttered as Feliciano hugged back, ruffling his hair.

"Aren't you supposed to be the older, mature one?" Feliciano chuckled.

"Not anymore, you have ten years on me." Feliciano sighed.

"Stop it fratello. Remember all those years that we were separated? When Antonio had you and _he_ had me?" Feliciano purposefully didn't speak his name, finding it too difficult. "Pretend it's like that. We're two halves again."

"But I don't _want _to be two halves again." He sniffled. Feliciano kissed his forehead.

"I will be back within a year. That's about all I can promise." Feliciano lied, resting a hand on his brothers shoulder.

"You better you bastard." Feliciano kissed his brother on either cheek, and got them in return.

"Be careful brother." He whispered as his brother left the room, probably to spill his guts to Antonio, who wouldn't believe a word of it. His brother ranted a lot, and more often then not in Italian. Or if he was really upset, Ancient Roman.

"What about me.." Feliciano looked at Gilbert. "No sad goodbye for me?" Feliciano bowed his head, smiling. Strong arms wrapped around him, pulling him tight against Gilbert, who smelled of dust from rooting around in the numerous boxes stacked around them.

"Of course you get a goodbye. I'm not sure you'll tear up over-" Feliciano looked up at the Prussian, who was crying freely.

"Why at such an unawesome time are you leaving?! I had plans you know!" Feliciano rose an eyebrow, looking up at him, before bringing up his hand, brushing away the tears as the fell.

"It'll be okay Gilbert. Plans change..whatever they were." Feliciano could only guess they were some sort of trouble-making antics he couldn't afford to divulge in. Which was why he was surprised when warm, trembling lips met his own, hand cradling his head. Gilbert pulled away, fresh tears sprouting.

"G-Gilbert?" Feliciano was cut off again as the white haired man kissed him again.

"Can I make you stay?" Gilbert muttered, not relinquishing his hold on Feliciano. "Is there anything I can do to make you stay?" Feliciano took a deep breath, and kissed Gilbert's tear-stained cheek tentatively.

"I will be fine. You need to be strong, Gilbert." Red eyes blinked away tears.

"Anything?" He asked one more time weakly.

"Mateo and I have to save this world Gilbert." He ran his hand down the side of Gilbert's face, trying to comfort him. "So that we _can _be together in it. You have to understand that." There was a solemn nod..and he let go of Feliciano, but not before he claimed Feliciano's lips one last time.

"I will wait for you. I have waited thousands of years.." Gilbert looked Feliciano square in his eyes. "..and I, the Awesome Gilbert, swear on my honor I will wait a thousand more to hold you, kumpan." And he was gone. Feliciano groaned. This just got complicated. He flipped his phone open, and dialed a number.

"Rosa Alpina, _mi dica*_?" The receptionist answered.

"Si, I need the most extensive health package you have, as well as manicure and a pedicure." There was a clicking on the other end.

"Would you like to make an appointment sir?"The woman asked, switching to English.

"No. I'm coming in now."

"Sorry sir, we don't have any-"She was cut off.

"This is Feliciano Vargas, you will make time, and you will make it now!" He growled, stepping out into an alley.

"O-of course!" There was a click, and Feliciano grit his teeth, taking a deep breath.

"See? This is why you guys always die." He told the phone, pocketing it. Feliciano put his hands in his pockets, stepping from the alley into a bright shopping area. His limo was parked on the curb, driver waving enthusiastically. Feliciano chuckled and opened the door, sliding inside.

"Hello sir!" He greeted.

"To Rosa Alpina, Mr. Bicardi" Feliciano propped his feet on the other seats that were facing him, pointing dramatically. The limo pulled from the curb smoothly, taking off down a side street. Feliciano leaned back as it went through the twists and turn of lower Italy, making it's way to the back roads that Feliciano insist they use, for safety's purpose.

They pulled up to the spa, and Feliciano got out of it as quickly as physically possible. He wanted to get himself pampered as thoroughly as humanly possible. He strolled in, inhaling the numerous herbs and candle scents mixing and swirling in a delicious smelling dance around himself. He walked up to the desk, and rose an eyebrow at the receptionist, who squeaked in fear, noticing the signet ring that clicked on the table top as he lay it on the table.

"Feliciano Vargas. Charmed. I do believe I have an appointment?" The woman nodded hurriedly, and led him off through a set of marble doors. Once on the other side, he was directed to an area in which he changed into a soft robe, that was a little fluffy for his tastes.

"This way sir," he heard a beautiful French voice purr. Feliciano tilted his head in her direction, noting the waist length golden colored hair, and stunning blue eyes. She was beautiful, by human standards. He let himself be led over to her, and sighed in content as several other young women, ranging from Italian to Korean surrounded him, vying for his attention.

"Which would you like?" One offered a basket of rubbing oils to him, and Feliciano chose one at random, letting his fingers dance over the fine lids. He pulled one out, the label reading _mela cannella._

"This one." He handed it over to the group of squealing women, then relaxed as they slid the robe off his shoulders. Skilled hands began rubbing the oils into various area's in his skin, while soft hands took care of his fingers and toe-nails. He was in a half-daze when he heard clumping of boots behind him. He turned his head lazily, catching the muzzle of a gun with the corner of his eye.

"Feliciano Vargas." He heard a thick accent sneer. "What are you doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" He settled back into his chair.

"Trespassing in my spa." He growled.

"Try and get me to leave." He replied, motioning for the girls to continue. They hadn't moved, in fear of being caught in a boss fight. A hand grabbed the Italian's shoulder, and yanked him up. Feliciano swung his Ruger around and clocked the bigger man in the jaw, and brought his foot up to kick the offending person in the chest. The man slid back a few feet, tumbling backward. His men seemed to crawl out of the woodwork, flinging themselves at Feliciano. Feliciano sighed, and took shoddy aim, only caring to avoid the young women fleeing underneath his feet.

He had to have taken at least twenty down when he leaned up against a broken chair, lighting up a Montecristo and blowing a smoke ring. He watched as it contorted and twisted its way to the ceiling.

"What happened here?!" He heard the manager shriek. Feliciano merely tilted his head, eyes glinting. The manager swallowed nervously. Feliciano stood, sighing. He pulled out a wad of euro he had 'borrowed' from the unconcious gang members bodies and shoved them in the women's hands.

"This should cover the damage I cause. I apologize for the mess." She stuttered as Feliciano walked away to collect his clothes.

Once dressed, he called his driver. When he arrived, Feliciano silently got into the car.

"Did you enjoy-" Feliciano rose a hand at his driver.

"The airport, Mr. Bicardi. I have a flight to catch." Mr. Bicardi pursed his lips and drew away from the curb, and watched as his boss looked out the window, the rolling hills sliding by. Vineyards, small homes painted vibrant colors..they were all part of Feliciano. Yet he acted as if he'd never see them again, pressing his lips against the rapidly cooling glass. Dark clouds were rolling in on the horizon, and as Feliciano rested his forehead on the class, Mr. Bicardi knew that the storm that was approaching wasn't anything to write off.

Feliciano wished he had a camera to catch the etheral beauty of his country, to take with him into isolation. He wrapped his arms around himself, moving to lay his cheek on the glass.

"Goodbye, Italy."

Translations

_fratello- brother_

_kumpan- sidekick_

_mi dica- tell me_

_mela cannella- apple cinnamon_

**AN: So this chapter is late due to communication problems between Abandon and I. My computer sadly fried the other day but thanks to Amaya Kira I can still get online but now Abandon's internet is down again. We're working on more effective ways to communicate.**

**Unara Akoni  
**


	13. Canadian Preparations

Arthur simply didn't know what to think of what he had just heard, but the evidence was impossible to deny. Sweet little Matthew had just nonchalantly walked up to him with a sword. When had he starting carrying weapons? Then Feliciano, the one he had always assumed was clueless, had begun arguing then dragged the Canadian down these strange tunnels. It was now almost an hour since he had seen them and he really didn't want to spend the night down there. He decided to go the way they had gone to try to find the way out.

* * *

Walking through the hallways slowly to give himself time to think, Matthew started to come up with a list of everything that had to be done before he could leave for his hideout again. Realizing that he needed to fit several months' worth of work into two weeks the blonde quickened his pace as he headed to the room where Arthur was supposed to be waiting.

* * *

Several hours later, Arthur was out of breath, having just been forced to escape a swarm of rats that did not appreciate him invading their territory. Small wounds littered his body from both the rats and where there he had scratched himself where there had been no light. He was definitely regretting not waiting for Matthew. The Englishman had a sneaking suspicion that he was wandering in circles so he finally just sat down in a relatively safe spot to gather his wits. He refused to be frightened; he was the former British Empire after all.

* * *

Upon arrival at where he had left Arthur before being drug off by Feliciano, Matthew immediately realized that there was a problem. Luckily the tunnels were still rather dusty so the Canadian was able to see some faint footprints left from the other. He quickly began to follow the trail, hoping that the Brit didn't run into any of Feliciano's numerous surprises.

* * *

A small noise caused Arthur to whirl around only to come face to face with his former colony. Matthew just seemed relieved to find him.

"You know this isn't the safest place to wander Arthur," the younger country stated as he moved closer to the other, "You can get lost for weeks if you don't have a map."

"Well I wasn't sure when you were coming back," said Arthur indignantly.

"You could've texted me if you really wanted to leave that badly," Matthew pointed out.

"I accidentally dropped my phone when I saw you running after my spell books."

"You have got to be kidding," Matthew scoffed, "I haven't carried a phone in years but I still haven't managed to lose this thing."

"You were stealing my spell books, I was a little concerned. Besides, not all of us are as attached to our phones as others."

"Better become attached to it then, it would really suck if there was an emergency and no one could contact you." The Canadian turned around, motioning the other to follow as he walked away.

* * *

"Alfred, what the hell are you doing here? I thought you went home!" Matthew demanded walking into his room and throwing his bag onto one of the beds.

Arthur, who had been trying to recover his books huffed and glared at the other blonde.

"Oh hey, Mattie! Just wondering where you have been," Alfred stated, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Alfred, what's in your hand?" Matthew questioned moving closer to his brother.

"What are you talking about Mattie?"

"That flash of silver I saw when you put your hand in your pocket had to come from something."

"It was just me putting my gun away." Alfred stated innocently.

"That's no gun Alfred." Matthew pointed out paling as he noticed what was missing from his stuff. "Put it down before you gas us all."

"Ooh, that's what it is!" Alfred exclaimed pulling out a small canister to look at it closely, turning it randomly.

"America put it down." Matthew ordered. "I haven't finished working with that; it's very dangerous right now."

"You're no fun Mattie."

"Neither is getting poisoned."

"Ok here, catch!" Alfred laughed, throwing the canister to his brother.

"You fucking idiot!" Matthew yelled as he carefully grabbed the flying object. As soon as he hand was around it safely he turned and yanked on the strap of his bag pulling it away from Arthur, hitting Alfred in the head as it swung around.

"What the fuck bro?"

"I just told you that it was dangerous, hinted that it was poison, and you still threw it! I don't have an antidote to this stuff, Al!" Matthew yelled before turning to Arthur, "You're not getting those books back so stop trying. The last time I saw you fight you relied on them too much and I won't let history repeat."

Both nations glared at the Canadian but decided not to push him. Something in his look made them back off. Alfred really didn't feel like getting shot again anyway.

Sighing Matthew sat down on one of the beds and looked at the other two nations thoughtfully.

"Al, can you provide weapons for the people who are helping us with this threat? An airforce would be appreciated too. I had another idea for ways you could help but I'm not sure you can handle it anymore." He looked down at the canister he now held and carefully slipped it into a special pocket in his bag.

"Dude, did you really just ask if I could give out weapons? My private stock is enough for everyone, let alone the stuff I can borrow from the military. I can probably get my hands on some planes too. And I can totally handle anything you give me! You know I wasn't going to set that thing off, right?"

"Did you even notice that there is a second button on the side of that?" Matthew questioned drily.

"If I had caught that wrong..."

"Oh, that's what that is. Eh, I knew you could handle it man." Alfred just continued to smile at his brother while Arthur shook his head in the background. Matthew just stared at his twin for a minute before turning to Arthur.

"I know this is a big shock for you but do you think you could help us gather information? We're not exactly used to being inconspicuous anymore and I know you have some pretty good spies. It would also be nice if you were able to get some ships that could transport a large number of people quickly."

Arthur immediately latched onto the idea. "Of course, dear boy, not a problem. I can talk to M16 and see who they can spare. As for the ships, I am sure we have a few that can be used. Do you want me to keep an eye on this idiot too?" He turned to glare at the American who was just standing there grinning.

"That would probably be a good idea. I was going to have him help me rebuild some of my weapons I used before and possibly make some new ones but I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore."

"No fair, I can totally help you! I promise I won't mess around anymore. You can't leave me with Artie right now! I want to build more weapons."

"Then prove it. I need to set up a research facility in Toronto and you can at least help with that."

"Let's do this! When do we leave?"

"We need to leave now; I'm kinda on a tight schedule." Matthew responded.

They immediately began packing while Alfred called his pilot to make sure the jet was ready. His boss didn't really like it when he used the private jet, but he managed to sneak it out for this trip and now he was really glad he did. Matthew's collection of weapons would be difficult to get on a commercial plane, even with their diplomatic immunity.

"Why do I have so much stuff?" Matthew muttered to himself irritated. "This is not necessary at all."

Alfred was already done packing; all he ever brought was his one suit, a couple pairs of boxers, and whatever video game console he was in the mood for. He looked over to see his brother putting random things on the bed that he obviously planned to leave behind. Arthur hadn't had time to pack anything so he just waited until the twins were done before they all trudged out of the hotel room to Matthew's rental car.

"So which airport is your jet at, Al?" Matthew questioned as he messed around with the radio.

"It's at the Leonardo da Vinci airport, not far at all. Traffic's horrible though."

"Ok, you may want to buckle up now Al." Matthew backed out of his parking spot and took off out off the hotel parking lot fast enough to make the tires squeal.

"Geez Mattie, give a guy a chance. I barely closed my door. Plus I think you're about to give Artie a heart attack." They both turned around to see the Brit hyperventilating in the back seat.

"Keep your eyes on the bloody road!"

"Don't worry Arthur; I haven't been in an accident yet," The Canadian cheerfully stated as they slid around a corner, "I'm in a hurry anyways."

"Yeah he always drives like this. Be glad we aren't on the autobahn. Now that was scary," said Alfred. Arthur didn't exactly look reassured.

"Should have seen it when I was trying to find Italy in my own time," Matthew laughed swerving around a car before turning onto a seldom used side road. "Now _that _was fun."

"I think I would prefer to avoid that. Please just concentrate on getting us to the airport in one piece."

"As you wish... Hey I think that was Feliciano we just passed!" Matthew exclaimed glancing in the mirror to see the limo they had just gone by.

"How can you tell? All I saw was a blur. Hey look, there's the airport. My jet should be prepped so we just have to talk to the front desk and they will get us there."

"I just know it's him Al, all another part of time travel," Matthew slowed his driving as he pulled into the parking lot and found a spot, "Lead the way Al."

They pried Arthur out of the vehicle and then made their way through the airport. Luckily Alfred was in the lead as so they were able to follow him barging through the crowds, receiving annoyed looks from the humans. They were settled into the jet and cruising over Europe within the hour.

_**AN: **_

_So once again we have a late chapter, sorry everyone. The past couple of weeks have been a bit stressful sadly. Lots of tests, an injury that prevented me from being able to type well, and having to transfer everything to my new computer. Thank you all for being so patient with us. Thanks goes to Amaya Kira for taking notes for the both of us while I typed this up in physics and also for betaing it._

_Unara Akoni_

_Dear Readers,_

_ Thank you guys for being so patient with us! I, Abandon, have an awful complication with my Internet from time to time, as you've noticed. Non temere!* Nothing shall bar our way! Eh-hem. So, I seek your forgiveness from you, our loyal readers. I'm afraid it's all my fault this chapter is so late. I had to walk half a mile to get it to Unara, who then got it to our beta, so that should let me off the hook a little for even going that far from my nice comfy bed and pillow pet. And please, leave reviews! We love hearing from you guys! In fact, if not for you, we probably would've abandoned it already! So keep them coming lovelies!_

_Sincerely,_

_Abandon._


	14. The Calm Before The Storm

Matthew didn't think that there would be a time when he was actually happy to get away from Arthur and Alfred after all the time he spent alone, but he forgot just how annoying they could be together. The two started fighting within minutes of the plane taking off from Rome and didn't stop until they landed, ignoring the protesting Canadian between them. Then when they landed Arthur refused to get into a car so they had to walk to Matthew's house, another fight broke out as Alfred decided to bait the Brit again. By the time they made it to their destination, Matthew was seriously tempted to just leave them outside. Lucky for them, he was too nice to do so.

"Can you two shut up already?" Matthew questioned irritably as he dropped down on his couch rubbing at his temples. "You've been fighting for hours."

"Pft, this isn't fighting. It's just friendly conversation," said the American, just before he was elbowed in the stomach for the umpteenth time that day.

Angry green eyes glared at him before turning to the Canadian. "I'm sorry Matthew, he just doesn't shut up. I will try to ignore him as much as possible."

"Whatever dude. So what happens now?" Alfred sat down in his favorite chair at Matthew's house.

"Now we need to set up a place for research." Matthew replied pulling a notebook out of his bag. "I'm going to try talking to my government about letting us use one of the smaller facilities tomorrow but until then it's better to just work with some of the smaller projects. This has most of my successful weapons, though they do need some tweaking." He finished passing the book to his brother.

Alfred instantly began to fervently read the book, much to Arthur's confusion. Since when did the American actually look excited about reading?

"I can definitely work on these, Mattie."

The Englishman was definitely not happy about being excluded. "What about me?"

"You need to start gathering information. We never did find out how something this big managed to make it to the market, all we really know is that it came from Madagascar. Feliciano has hired some people to investigate the lab itself but I'm not sure how much I trust them. It would be a good idea to set up a network that could tell us as soon as a large number of people begin to get infected." Matthew paused for a moment to think before setting a stack of books on the table. "Try working with your magic too, just make sure not to rely on it too much."

All three men were silent for a bit, their exhaustion from the quick travel finally catching up. Arthur's phone rang and after a grimace he exchanged a quick conversation with Francis. Looking up, he noticed that Matthew was looking more melancholy than he had been.

'What's wrong lad?"

"Just remembering things better left in my own time." The Canadian sighed looking out the window. "How close I came to being able to save at least one person I cared for."

"What happened?" quietly wondered the American, not really expecting an answer.

* * *

_Matthew raced through Paris pushing the car he had commandeered to its limits. He had been on his way to meet up with Francis when the other man had called saying his home was surrounded and that he couldn't get out. _

"_We told him it wouldn't be safe to stay here." The blond growled turning onto another deserted street and sighing as he saw the Frenchman's house in the distance."Let's knock some sense into him after this fight is over ok Kumasaka? I can't let him die; he's all I have left."_

_Kumajiro growled in agreement as Matthew drove through the front gate, making sure to run over the few enemies still outside. _

_Noticing the broken front door, the Canadian exited the car pulling out his brothers' gun and a small knife he had found not long before and entered the house._

_Figuring out where the group had gone was not hard for Matthew as he followed a trail of destruction through the once magnificent house. As he was walking through one of the destroyed rooms the Northern Nation noticed the body of Sesel lying among the fallen maids. After pausing to close the eyes of his fellow country, Matthew ran after the trail of blood praying that he would find Francis alive._

* * *

_Matthew sighed as he entered the ballroom to see Francis fighting a large group, he wasn't too late. Immediately the Canadian began shooting into the horde as he ran forward using the knife to slash at any creature that got to close._

_Kumajiro ran forward after his master, using his increased size to take out any of the creatures who attempted to sneak up on Matthew as he desperately fought to reach the last of his family._

_Suddenly one of Francis's targets moved out of range right as he moved forward into a lunge and another grabbed his arm, adding pressure as the bone snapped._

_Matthew cried out in despair as the group moved forward and overwhelmed the French Nation and tore him apart. In this moment of distraction, the blond did not notice one of the creatures until it bit down on his arm hard._

_Feeling something inside him snap, Matthew thrust his knife into the head of his opponent and grabbed Francis's sword and began killing anything that got too close._

* * *

"I can't really remember much of the fight after Francis died." Matthew admitted rubbing the scar on his arm. "I just snapped; he really was the only person I had left. Seeing him get killed just pushed me too far. The next thing I remember was standing in the ballroom with Kumajiki nudging my leg. We were surrounded by the bodies of the infected and there was blood everywhere… it was all over the floor, the walls, dripping from the sword that I now held, and even covering me and Kumaska."

The other two nations sat in stunned silence after hearing this tale. Neither of them were Francis's best friend, but to hear of such a brutal death was still incredibly difficult. No wonder Matthew was as serious as he was now. He'd not only witnessed his own twin's death, but also both his caretakers'. They simply had no idea what to say.

"I've always hated that I wasn't able to make it in time to do anything, but I'm not sure how much good it would have done. Shortly after quite a few countries started acting like the infected and so there was no choice but to fight, it was either fight and die or wait to go mad."

As the silence stretched on after that statement, Arthur finally stood up and started to head toward the kitchen. "I'll make us some lunch, I know I am rather hungry."

Quickly jumping up the Canadian brushed past Arthur looking slightly panicked. "Don't worry about that, you two are guests here. I wouldn't be a proper host if I let you cook for us."

The American finally shook himself out of his stupor and slowly followed the other two into the kitchen. He would definitely be working hard to make sure his brother never had to go through that again.

* * *

Matthew sighed as he walked away from his boss's office, he should have known the man wouldn't believe him. The only good thing that had come from this meeting was that he didn't have to do any paperwork for a few weeks, apparently he was being worked too hard and the stress was going to make him crazy. Pulling out his cell phone the Canadian called his brother trying to come up with a new plan while the phone rang.

Alfred picked up his phone as his brother called. "Hey Mattie, done with your meeting?"

"Yeah, my boss won't listen to me so we don't get a lab from my government." Matthew replied as he exited the building, looking around at the large crowd warily.

"Damn, well maybe I can get something. My boss is pretty chill about stuff like that. Come back here and ... what's that noise? Mattie?" Alfred's smile fell as he heard the unmistakable sounds of screaming from his brother's end of the phone.

"There's another attack Al, I swear these things are tracking me." The younger of the two growled as he fended off an attacker.

"Oh shit, shit shit shit, why did your meeting have to be so far away? I can't make it there in time. Hurry up and get out of there Mattie!"

"I can't just leave Al, they will keep- Shit!" The Canadian quickly swung his sword around killing the creature that had managed to get behind him. He growled in annoyance as the phone slipped from his grasp and hit the ground and was stepped on by another attacker.

As the home screen of his phone popped up, Alfred realized there was nothing he could do to help his brother. He'd never make it there on time. He'd just have to hope his brother was capable of defending himself. As he waited through the next few hours, calling his twin several times only to be greeted by voicemail every time, he began to worry more and more. The American turned on the news to see what he could find out. Eventually the story came up, stating that a group of people had attacked around the prime minister's office, but there were no fatalities. It was the only comfort he would receive as hours then days passed without a sign of the Canadian. He seemed to have fallen off the planet, never answering his phone and not coming back. Alfred and Arthur continued his work, setting up a lab that they hoped would eventually be used and calling in Francis to help.

_**AN**__: So first off, there is a chance that I will Abandon Heaven For You will no longer be working on this with me. She has told me that it is ok to go ahead and work on it on my own if we continue having communication problems. Even if this does come to pass I can assure you all that To Save The Future will still be completed. Second, my beta Amaya Kira is going to be overseas from November 28__th__ to December 9__th__and won't have any internet access. If anyone would like to temporarily help me by betaing my work while she's gone it would be appreciated, otherwise I probably will not be posting anything during this time. I would also like to thank everyone for their reviews, it really helps me keep finding inspiration when I know that there are people like you that enjoy reading what I write. Feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions or just want to talk._

_Unara Akoni_


	15. Heading North

Matthew growled as he cut through more of the attackers that had surrounded him. _'Where the hell are these things coming from? This many should not have been able to follow us.' _The blond thought as he glanced around trying to locate Kumajiro.

After clearing away two more of the infected Matthew was finally able to spot his companion. The small bear was trying pull a girl no older than four away from the panic that had quickly taken over the area. The nation pulled out his gun and shot at the enemy closest to the duo before fighting his way over to stand protectively by the child, no matter how much he hated it at times he knew the importance of protecting his people.

Feliciano nimbly dodged an attacker, noticing Matthew fighting not to far off.

"Mateo! This is not the time to be playing with humans!" He sent a spiral kick in the direction of an infected human, knocking it into a fountain of a sphinx. The cement cracked, and water began to pour from the fractured base near the paws. "Spit out thy riddle." Feliciano sneered. A groan came from the downed man. " Never mind, you can keep it!"

"Like you wouldn't protect one of your own children!" The Canadian yelled back as many of the humans finally began to clear the area. Suddenly the girl took off running as a woman came around a corner. Matthew smiled slightly as the two reunited before moving over to Feliciano. "Nice to see you here."

Feliciano gave a customary wave, and swept Matthew into a one armed hug.

"Oh yes, beautiful weather for a picnic. Thought I'd drop by." He remarked. "Do tell, are your people always this nice? Or is it the watch?" He let go of Matthew and adjusted the expensive piece of jewelry.

"My people do like to be hospitable, I think they're going a little overboard this time though." Matthew laughed jumping away from a man who tried to tackle him.

Feliciano moved, bringing his foot up into the gut of an oncoming attacker. He pulled a Ruger from his coats pocket, making sure to double tap.

"Well, I did bring an off road vehicle but feel free to walk." Feliciano smirked.

"Any room for those we took down? It may be good to try to find a cure." The blond questioned scanning the area for more attackers.

"What part 'off road vehicle' says car?" Feliciano questioned, inspecting his neatly filed nails.

"You never know these days." Matthew shrugged. "We should probably get  
started then, not sure how long it will take for someone to show up."  
Feliciano opened the door to the truck parked nearby, giving a fanciful wave of his arm.  
"Natives first."

Matthew moved over to one of the fallen infected and started dragging the body towards the truck.

"We need a couple of these guys if we are going to find a cure. I really hope you have a tarp or something."

Feliciano shot Matthew a hurt expression.

"Of course I brought a tarp."

Feliciano and Mateo rounded up some more of the unconscious and deceased bodies in the back of the truck, careful not to jostle the crates too much.

"Do you think we can pull it off?" Feliciano asked, as he started the ignition.

"What do you mean?" Matthew questioned as he got into the truck.

"The whole 'getting away' thing." He made air quotes to emphasize. The car revved up, and Feliciano took a quick look back. "Hold on." He threw the truck into reverse, smashing into a new group of the infected humans and slamming his foot down on the pedal. The boxes, secured well, didn't move an inch, but made tinkling sounds as a few of the bodies jostled them.

"Of course, we are in my country. I know how to avoid my people."

"Good." The truck rumbled on as a silence stretched between the two that was only broken when Feliciano inserted a music disk into the CD player. Italian poured from the speakers.

"I see you came prepared."

"I also brought self-manicure kits." He flexed his hands on the steering wheel, sniffing indignantly. "They didn't finish mine because an old friend interrupted my spa day."

"Well at least you'll have nice nails while we're up north." Matthew laughed petting Kumajiro.

Feliciano grumbled something unintelligible about wine. "My belongings have already reached our base, correct?"

"Yeah, I managed to convince someone to take supplies before I went to talk with my boss. Good thing I did too, he doesn't really understand the situation."

Feliciano regarded Matthew. "Mateo, I don't understand the situation entirely. I doubt you do either."

"And sadly we're still the most knowledgeable about it."

Feliciano nodded seriously, then shook his head.

"Where are we going?"

"Just start going north, I'll give you more directions later." Matthew replied as he pulled out a spell book to study.

"Cryptic, I like." He revved up the engine.

_AN: So the reason this took so long was that I have been extremely sick for several weeks. This chapter may be short but Abandon and I decided it would be good to post one so you know we are still here. Thank you to those who offered to beta while Amaya Kira was gone, even if we were unable to write anything in that time.  
_

_Unara Akoni  
_


	16. Isachen

_**AN: So I know this is a short chapter that also took a long time and I'm sorry for that. Sadly I Will Abandon Heaven for you has decided to leave this fic to me, hopefully with the help of Amaya Kira I will be able to update faster as we get used to the changes Abandon had for certain characters.**_

* * *

"How fucking big is this country anyway?" The hours were blending together as both time-travelers were prepared to murder each other from being trapped in a vehicle together. Looking back, their own time should have prepared them for this but they were spoiled again.

"Big enough that those things will freeze long before they even get close to us." Matthew responded as he expertly navigated a small Twin Otter Aircraft while trying to ignore just how cramped the cockpit was. The two had been traveling for several days now trying to get to a deserted research facility before there were any blizzards. Things were at least going decently until the two noticed that Kumajiro had started to grow, the bear now stood above his knees and the cramped space was fraying the Italian's nerves.

"Get this damn bear off of me; he's getting fur all over my suit."

"Where is he supposed to go Feliciano?" The blonde snapped. "There really isn't much room in case you didn't notice."

"Out the window for all I care. How much longer until we reach this magical safe place?" said Feliciano bitingly.

"We should get there in around 20 minutes if we're lucky."

"And if we're unlucky?"

"I don't think you want to hear that answer." Matthew muttered irritably.

"Oh no, please enlighten me. I would simply love to know what could happen to us that could be worse than what we've already gone through."

"Oh would you? Well we could always crash somewhere if too much ice builds up on the wings or if I give in to the urge to strangle a certain Italian." Was the falsely cheerful reply.

Feliciano smiled bitterly. "Is that all? Could be worse. Wake me when we get there."

"No problem, I doubt you could sleep through the landing anyways."

"I haven't slept in over 48 hours. I doubt anything could wake me up."

"We'll see." Matthew smirked.

"Now wasn't that fun?" Matthew questioned as the plane finally came to a stop on the icy runway, if it could be considered such.

"Fuck you." The Italian rubbed that rapidly swelling spot on his head and glared at the grinning Canadian.

"Well you didn't sleep through the landing, though it looked like you would until you hit your head. At least there's enough ice for that." He quickly opened the door and jumped to the ice happily.

"Its too damn cold for anyone to be this cheerful." A foot in an expensive Italian loafer stepped out of the plane only to slide, causing its owner to fall out of the plane entirely. He slid comically down the runway as the wind pushed him. Only the polar bear standing in his way made him stop.

"Good job Feliciano. You haven't been on ice much have you?"

"Italy isn't exactly known for its large quantities of ice."

"Point taken." Matthew grabbed a couple bags from the plane and began walking towards a group of buildings. "Welcome to Isachsen Weather Observation Station. My government had it remodeled after Alfred abandoned it back around the Cold War as a safe haven if there was ever an attack, of course no one usually stays here since it is technically abandoned."

"Will that idiot look for us here?"

"He never actually came here, he kept complaining about how cold it is. I'm pretty sure he only remembers the other two stations so we will be safe." The Canadian shrugged.

"Let's get these bodies unloaded and stuff put away. I want to sleep before I deal with anything else. There is heat here, right?" The look the Italian leveled at his partner promised a slow demise if there wasn't.

"Of course there is heat, we would freeze if there wasn't."

"Fine, let's hurry then I don't want to see your face for at least 24 hours."

"Like your face is something great to look at." The Canadian muttered as he continued to walk away. "I'm already unloading if you haven't noticed."

"Unload faster."

"Learn to walk."

"Fuck you"

"No thanks, I don't fuck annoying Italians." Matthew called back as he entered one of the buildings.

Feliciano flipped him off but finally started to help unload.


End file.
